there have been only two other honorable & very capable holders
Two different attributes. I don't disagree about the latter. But I would say Malcolm Rifkind was more honourable than most, breaching long standing Parliamentary protocol by openly disagreeing with the findings of his civil servants and senior RAF officers over the Mull of Kintyre case; and saying so in the media. No, he didn't do it at the time, but he was lied to by the Air Staff, and immediately went public upon being shown the evidence. Similarly, although he still seriously misled Parliament, Liam Fox.
And, similarly, Des Browne over Nimrod XV230, ordering the Nimrod Review the very same day his junior ministers and MoD were lying through their back teeth to the media, having withheld the truth from their boss. Also, he fought hard for important changes to the Military Covenant, only to be overruled by Browne's "without significant cost" caveat. (Which Fallon reversed in a speech earlier this year, without media comment. Williamson won't stick to that promise I wager). And Browne was subject of perhaps the most disgraceful decision in recent times, to combine Secys of State for Defence and Scotland. Something you'd expect from the Tories, but not Labour. Just trying to be fair, in a time when very few Ministers have the slightest clue about how their Department works.