Echoes, in case you missed it, are officially described as "imitations of things found in the environment" which can be used to "solve puzzles and defeat enemies". In the latest 'Ask the Developer' for this upcoming release, Nintendo's team explains how each one has a very specific characteristic, so there's no overlap.
"We wanted players to be able to remember off the top of their heads which echo to use in certain situations."
The function of each echo has been "clearly defined" so players can immediately understand "how and where they should be used".
"We were mindful of designing it so that players could reach the gameplay elements we wanted them to experience without getting lost and confused."
The game didn't actually begin life with this many options. Originally, the team was "thinking about a lot of restrictions on the gameplay" like only being able to use "20 echoes in a dungeon" and one day "decided to "scrap that approach and not impose any restrictions".
"Over time, most of the restrictions we thought were necessary at the start of development were no longer needed. It even led us to allow things that we worried at first would provide too much freedom. It's strange, isn't it? It's almost as if introducing some freedom attracted even more freedom."
And this approach to the development led to the idea of the game being built around "being mischievous".