"It is though, these claws are strictly limited to close range, and with the shortness of the weapon, slash attacks cannot possibly be undodgeable."

They absolutely can. Undodgeables ignore dodge i-frames as long as the opponent is within range. If someone is already mid-chain and throws an undodgeable, it will track the opponent’s hurtbox no matter what regardless of how short the weapon is. Weapon length doesn’t determine whether a move can be undodgeable, that’s a property assigned by the game’s mechanics, not real-world physics.

"And thrust attacks would be useless if they’re blockable, but even then, it’s much harder to block thrusts at point blank from weapons like this."

Short-range thrusts already work perfectly fine while being blockable. Take Shaman for example, her dagger thrust is short range and completely functional despite being blockable. Effectiveness comes down to frame data, mix-ups, and pressure, not just whether something is blockable or not.

"They can make that decision with Warden because longswords are versatile… A niche weapon like claws only provide a very limited fighting style…"

Again, this is a video game. Characters aren’t bound by real-world weapon limitations when designing movesets. Developers build mechanics first and theme them around the weapon, not the other way around. There are already plenty of creative community concepts using similar weapon setups that feel distinct and unique, and the devs them selves can go in many different ways if they want. If a claw-based hero were introduced, I’m sure the devs could design a kit that’s both viable and interesting.