Yeah, I think Hendrix was both a better technician and more soulful/musical. But not by much.
His work on Band of Gypsies, and multiple other live recordings is often exhilarating.
And he would have killed for that rhythm section of equals.
Okay. I love Clapton, in the 80s when I was taking up guitar he was the guy I listened to over and over and over. Wore out his album with John Mayall and his stuff with Cream. But even then I found his work after Derek and The Dominoes and Blind Faith to be sort of ... dull I guess. Same licks all the time, standard 3 minute pop songs, just sort of dull. A few gems in there, to be sure, but I feel like overall he let his spark just turn down for a decade or more. I know he was a heroin addict for much of that time and I don't think the guys he was playing with were skilled enough to ever challenge him musically to elevate his game (like a Jack Bruce / Ginger Baker / Steve Winwood / Dwayne Allman, etc were) and that combo of drugs and complacency is probably what drove it.
And yet I just can't see Hendrix ever having such a bland period as Clapton went through. Maybe that's just because he burned so brightly for such a short time that it's unimaginable that he would ever dim but still, it's how I feel.