About Aether, like...recovery is ridiculously easy in Brawl. Almost nobody can attack at the low vertical level Ike jumps from in order to grab the ledge with Aether (except for Snake really, more reason why he counters Ike). It's attack properties far outweigh the short horizontal distance it gains, because the move essentially cannot be ledgehogged. Although recovery is generally easy, most other Up-Bs can be ledgehogged with some good timing. Aether is significantly harder to ledgehog.
I'm not recommending spamming Quick Draw at all. I understand how it is punishable. I still argue that Ike has several attributes that make it a viable tactic in several situations (just to name one you guys haven't mentioned, Kirk has gotten several ledgehog kills with Quick draw which enables him to more quickly reach the ledge from a distance). And remember, Ike still wins massively over most other characters in the range department even with an attack like his Jab which comes out plenty fast. Attacks like this give Ike an even bigger buffer zone over the fairly low ending lag. He is the ONLY character who can even consider a tactic like this, which is regardless a win for him in mindgame options.
EDIT: Dash attack is also a good techchase. It briefly moves faster than his Dash, and comes out faster than Quick Draw. It does less damage but has more horizontal knockback.
