To be honest, none of you know if Ariana is a better vocalist than Whitney or Mariah because she hasn't shown us everything she can do. What I do know is that Ariana sounds better than Mariah does now, and Whitney did after the drugs. If she continues to grow as a vocalist and takes care of her voice, getting to that level won't be so hard.
Mariah and Whitney continue to be the vocal standard in any old regular joes conversations, that's all that matters. I should link this thread back to the Mariah vs Bey thread for the deluded ones