But part of what makes him “superior” in the first place is what makes him worthy to emulate.
True, we need a starting point from which to establish what we consider superior and worthy of emulating, so that it shouldn’t be completely circular. That starting point is our Torah hashkafos as we have learned from our parents and rebbeim, i.e. our mesorah.
He is not worthy of emulation because he is superior
I disagree. Once we establish who is superior, there is always more to learn.