Well, the thing is, while at first glance Bandana Dee might appear to be just a regular old Waddle Dee with a bandana slapped on and a spear, the truth is he has differentiated himself a ton, and has his own personality. He's docile, friendly, yet also something of a strong proud warrior type. Hell, he's actually drifted away from Dedede and towards being Kirby's friend (though it depends on the game), so I'd say he doesn't even qualify as an elite look to represent his species - he's just an individualized member of it.
Plus, he's become the de facto player 4 character in Kirby games, and with that came a clear distinction made by devs - he's clearly referred to as Bandana Waddle Dee or just Bandana Dee in games, and spoken about just like any individual, with him being defined not by his species but by his self.
I think the more apt comparison to Bandana Dee would be Captain Toad: both share certain common facets with their fellow Toads/Dees, but they also have distinguishing features, physically and personality-wise. The key difference is that Bandana Dee is much more important to his series.
I hope this covers everything, though I'm sure the nice people in this thread can go into more depth.