Kinda love this analogy because Haydee's attire and Ellen's attire is almost identical.
Ermm...I think Ellen can distract you only during the in game menu and H-scene, but on the other hand, Haydee can and will distract you the whole game depend on mod you installed.
If you being surrounded, use spin attack (space bar). Also do not ignore the INT and LCK stat because extra MP can help you spam magic attack and some abiliy, and LCK will help you land more critical attack; this is up to you, but I recommend putting enough LCK to land at least 1 critical hit in one combo.