I figured he meant he'd use suigetsu's power to turn to water, but even if he sheds his skin he's still not fast enough to create distance between A. He may know alot about A but having a plan and and actually completing it under that kinda pressure is very different, kabuto's never faced that kind of speed or raw power. The shedding of skin take's quite a bit of chakra if i remember correctly and A can hit him at time he sheds before he can even do anything. And we have no reason to think his base form is even close to a match for A he did no fighting in his base form and i believe he said he couldnt even beat anko in fair taijutsu which is why he bit her with a snake(which made her look like a total loser lmao). Kabuto's base shinobi skills arent good enough to keep him alive against A and deffinitly the 3rd. But i do agree with the part about him being a good medical ninja and perhaps knowing how to deal with being paralyzed.Third Raikage, probably top 10. A, no. Though, I was never one to claim either weren't top 10 (until now). You make good points, and when I actually thought about it, you're probably right.
Still, as for Kabuto having a counter for his speed, consider that Kabuto is very intelligent. He probably knows everything there is to know about any opponent he might face (yeah, yeah, not Itachi). So, coming into the fight, he would know exactly what to expect, and have a plan to defend against it.
When HiddenSound said "liquefy" I dont think he meant it literally. Just, a replacement or something to that effect. Something like Oro would do. He is one of the best medical-nin out there. He might even be able to resist the lightnings effect, in a similar fashion.
You seem to assume that in base form (non-sage, no edo summons) Kabuto is a feeble, listless, scared little girl.