Based on skill alone and no force powers, Vader is probably the better duelist, but Windu's Vapaad, allowed him to siphon dark side energy from his opponent into himself and high ten his abilities, allowing him to win against Sidious.
As Darth Vader, he was one of the strongest beings in the entire galaxy. But even then, he was never able to surpass his master, Darth Sidious. A Sith Apprentice can only become the master when they murder the one who trained them.
Once he became Darth Vader, Anakin had long become superior to Dooku and Mace Windu. He exceeded their power while still living as Anakin Skywalker, and greatly exceeded their power later in life, both in the force and in lightsaber combat.
Is Mace Windu the strongest Jedi Master of all time? Not even close, especially in Legends. He was one of the most powerful Jedi of his era, and can certainly go down in history as one of the orders most capable warriors, but even in his era he was second to Yoda.
Mace Windu vs Darth Maul | Fandom. Mace windu clear winner 9/10 times. His use of vapad would make the fight play out similair to windu vs palpatine. He would use the seething rage pouring out of maul against him, and as mauls force power was so much weaker than windu's it would be an undisputed win for windu.
Mace does have some advantages, for example shatterpoint and Vaapad. However, even with these advantages Windu would be defeated by Vader. The Dark Lord is one of the best duelists in canon, slightly more superior than Palpatine to the point that even Palpatine indicated Vader's strength and power.
So if Mace Windu fought Vader in a lightsaber battle, Windu would most likely win, but in terms of dueling skill alone, Vader takes the cake. George Lucus said that Darth Vader was the best duellist to ever live.
In the long run, both Windu and Yoda outdid Palpatine. His belief that Mace Windu was more powerful than Yoda was of little account. After all, Windu himself knew Yoda was superior, and he had no qualms about admitting it.
Windu has created and fully mastered Vaapad, a variant of Form VII. Yoda mastered the original variant known as Juyo. Both of them were able to fight with Palpatine on equal ground, matching him blow for blow. It is stated that Yoda beat Mace in a sparring match.
In the canon timeline, Mace Windu is known as the Jedi Order's greatest champion. With this in mind, it's easy to understand why Mace is one of the few beings capable of defeating Palpatine.
Most of the prequel-era Jedi never got to interact with Luke Skywalker, including Mace Windu. However, in a hypothetical crossover between Luke and the prequels' Jedi Order, Mace Windu would be a strong candidate to defeat Luke Skywalker.
That notwithstanding, Master Windu was also one of the best. If the two spared as Jedi, Dooku would probably win the match because he was the better all-around duelist.
So while, Vader isn't the most powerful Force User of all time but he is the most powerful Sith Lord and One of the most harmful Force Users of all time.
Yep. Darth Maul didn't really say or show straight up that he "feared" Darth Vader, but he openly stated his belief that he could not defeat Darth Vader without the help of the Jedi, therefore on his own.
Kylo Ren is not weak, his potential is certainly as high as any of the Skywalker lineage, but I believe he simply has a misunderstanding of how the Force works, and because of this misunderstanding, he has made himself weaker.
Vader Outranked only by Sidious - CON: The only thing I can find that says Tarkin outranked Vader is a quote by David Filoni in 2015 during an interview about Rebels. He actually says that Tarkin outranks Vader.
Like all in the Order, the young Korun boy was taught by Grand Master Yoda when he was a learner, and eventually went on to become a Padawan to another Jedi. At one point during his apprenticeship, Windu trained under Master T'ra Saa.
Mace seemed to defeat Sidious and raised his lightsaber to strike down the Sith Lord, but a desperate Anakin ignited his own weapon and severed Mace's forearm. Sidious then blasted Mace with Force lightning, sending the great Jedi champion plummeting to his death.
According to Imperial Estimates in Star Wars Inside #87, only about 100 of the Jedi survived Order 66. Most were subsequently hunted down and killed in the years following the Great Jedi Purge.
In their prime, Luke would have absolutely lost in a battle. Yoda is the embodiment of knowledge, practice, skill, and patience. He's also deceptively strong and agile. We can all remember the time he first dropped his cane and fought off Count Dooku.
Ok so let's get into it Mace Windu survives, The fall but he has lost his weapon and is servilely wounded in now hostile territory. This is why I believe he would go into hiding for some time thoughout the early years of The Galactic Empire.
In Star Wars Legends and Canon, Galen Marek (Starkiller) is the only Jedi (other than Obi-Wan Kenobi) to put a beat down on Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker. Galen was secretly trained as a Sith Lord apprentice to Vader, but returned to the light side and the Jedi.
Obi-Wan Kenobi soundly defeated Vader in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and is easily one of the most powerful Jedi Vader ever faced. Vader and Obi-Wan were similar in swordsmanship and Force-sensitivity, but Vader's hatred of Obi-Wan often caused him to fight irrationally.
Yoda's presence on Dagobah was likely hidden due to his mastery of Force Stealth and the planet's connection to the Force. Yoda, with his enhanced Force abilities and potential home-field advantage, would have had the upper hand against Darth Vader if they engaged in a lightsaber duel.
