Influence goes beyond who somebody sounds like and having clones. How many groups actually sound like Run DMC? Run DMC's influence doesn't run deep because they fathered a bunch of clones, it runs deep because Run DMC is the reason a lot of rappers even picked up a mic. Their influence also runs deep because the group is a touchstone for groups that came after (hence groups being compared to them).
Being a mainstream act has nothing to do with it. Neither does being from the suburbs.
I can only agree with half of this Run-DMC absolutely fathered clones and in fact, their music inspired an entire shift in how rap sounded after '83. They're directly credited for 1- rap production switching from the 'band' sound to the drum machine era, and 2- their rap style that had everybody screamin' hard on the mic for like three years straight. They changed how rappers dressed and prformed as well...
The rest of your post is also true, they def. were the inspiration to a lot of people who started rapping and blew hip-hop up... they get lots of credit/respect, but I think even in that case, people tend to leave out just how big their influence and impact was.