Netflix Defenders is just the Avengers again (spoilers)

I've been watching (and thoroughly enjoying) Netflix' Defenders series.  I was super excited for Daredevil when it first dropped, and everything since has been excellent in my opinion (yes, even Iron Fist).  However, I have noticed something funny about it that probably is a contributor to its success, but is also perhaps a mark against it.  The Defenders are just the Avengers.

Let's look back at the Avengers Phase I (and just past it) release timeline

Iron Man - snarky broad-appeal white guy who wears red

Hulk - strong and hard-to-control

Iron Man 2 - snarky white guy again

Thor - hero from another dimension

Captain America - moral center of the team

Avengers

Iron Man 3
... some more sequels...
Guardians of the Galaxy - wild card

Now, think back to the Defenders Phase I release timeline

Daredevil - snarky broad-appeal white guy who wears red

Jessica Jones - strong and hard-to-control

Daredevil 2 - seeing the pattern?

Luke Cage - moral center of the team

Iron Fist - hero from another dimension

Defenders

Punisher - wild card

So aside from a very small number of transpositions, the release schedule has been roughly identical.  I just took a look, and it appears that Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are slated for second seasons before Daredevil's third (although the end of Defenders could've fooled me), so Phase II is already diverging somewhat more.

So Daredevil is Iron Man, Jessica Jones is Hulk, Luke Cage is Captain America, and Iron Fist is Thor.  But what of our supporting cast members?  Well, let me put it this way, I was astonished that Claire Temple lived through the Defenders, because she was clearly Agent Coulson.  I assumed she would die and then would get her own show that wouldn't interact with the MCU ever again (lol).  Instead, Nick Fury (I mean Brick) died. 

Note also, Daredevil got sent to the brink of death, so like Iron Man's wormhole experience, I bet that Daredevil having a building fall on him will be a new character defining trait.

What does this mean for the future?  Punisher is going to be the Guardians of the Galaxy of the Defenders.  He's the crazy gamble they're taking in Phase II to see what happens.  Punisher is notably a lot less of a gamble than GotG since he's already got a fan base that's just been waiting around.

Another, it appears that they're accelerating the release schedule due to Hulk 2 (Jessica Jones 2) happening (unlike in the movies).  We're presumably getting 3 releases in 2017 (Punisher pending), and likely 3 in 2018, a new season for everybody but Iron Fist.

So, knowing that they're not as willing to take big gambles as the Marvel movie folks, who do you think will be their Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther?  

I think Blade would make an excellent Doctor Strange for one thing.  He's not as red-wearing, but he'd expand the universe in a similar fashion, peeling back the curtain to show us something new.  Also, he'd make a good replacement team leader.

Shang Chi could be a good addition.  Some others that come to mind are Morbius the Living Vampire, Moon Knight, Daimon Hellstrom, Elsa Bloodstone, and America Chavez.  I guess what it comes down to is that I think we'll have some vampires in the future of the Defenders.  None of that's until Phase III anyways, so the comics have plenty of time to promote some lesser known characters between now and then.