Now that you mention it, she is just about the same age Nacchi was when she graduated and took over the Hello! Morning hosting duties from Kei.
She's always been good at MCing but now she's a complete pro at it.
I guess that's why I always thought of her as kind of a Yaguchi type personality, but I've been seeing some of the same things as you more recently too.
Only thing is that all the younger members said that Nacchi was the most intimidating in the group, which I've never seen in Risa.