The realistic answer seems to be, yes, Anakin in his prime could have defeated Luke Skywalker (in the current canon) if they battled one-on-one. The main reason behind this is Luke's lack of formal Jedi training, at least when it comes to combat.
Luke Skywalker Had More Potential In The Force Than Darth Vader. The person in question is Luke Skywalker, and Lucas has been quite clear that his potential exceeds Vader's.
Lucas confirms that Luke has the same Force potential as his father, claiming that, "[the Emperor] finds that, with Luke, he can get a more primo version [of Anakin] if he can turn Luke to the Dark Side," which means Luke most likely has the same midi-chlorian count as his father.
Though there was some debate among the fans that Anakin Skywalker's son, Luke Skywalker, was actually the Chosen One since he caused his father to destroy Darth Sidious, the debate was settled when George Lucas himself confirmed in an interview that Anakin, even after becoming Darth Vader, was still officially the ...
Anakin & Luke Skywalker | Who Is Truly More Powerful - IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
Did Luke ever surpass Anakin?
But in the end, all of Anakin's formal training and experience in war is going to trump anything Luke ever accomplished through his training. Luke may have been able to defeat Darth Vader, arguably a much better duelist than Anakin ever was, but there was a small issue with that accomplishment.
Since Anakin's defeat on Mustafar, he needed frequent visits to his bacta tank to survive, and even the Vader suit itself was crude enough for Palpatine to control him. So with an aged body, a mind out of balance and the surprise of Luke's attack, Vader was caught at his weakest point.
Anakin Skywalker is the most powerful. When it comes to lightsabers, Luke Skywalker is the best that there is. Kylo Ren had the potential to become a very powerful Force wielder, but he never achieved this.
Summary. Darth Vader and Kylo Ren are powerful villains in Star Wars, but Vader's control and training give him the edge over Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren may have raw Force power, but Vader's mastery of the Force and lightsaber skills make him the more formidable opponent.
Infil'a put up a fierce fight against Vader, almost killing him by throwing the already damaged Sith Lord off of a cliff. Despite severe damage to his suit, Vader survived the fall, and repaired himself with parts from Infil'a's droid, Arex.
Despite being the Chosen One, Anakin Skywalker was not the most powerful Jedi in Star Wars, as that honor goes to Ahsoka Tano. The Star Wars prequel trilogy focused on Anakin's desire to become the most powerful Jedi, and while he became very strong in the Force, his lust for power drove him to the dark side.
Over the years, Anakin came to highly respect Yoda, while Yoda gradually outgrew his fear of Anakin and came to have faith in him and correctly came to believe that Anakin was the Chosen One from the Jedi prophecy.
Vader had to obey his master, so he goaded Luke until he touched the dark side. That's why Palpatine congratulated Luke, saying, "Good. Your hate has made you powerful." Many fans declare that Luke won the confrontation because he nearly killed Vader, but that's technically not true.
How old was Anakin when Luke and Leia were born? In canon, he was 22 (he was born in 41 BBY, and Luke and Leia were born in 19 BBY). In Legends, accounts vary saying he's either 22 or 23. Interestingly enough, he was around two years younger than Ben Solo was in the TLJ flashback were Luke reads his mind.
In Star Wars, younglings were traditionally recruited into the Jedi Order from an early age — so young that 9-year-old Anakin Skywalker faced opposition as being too old to train. However, during the original trilogy, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi resolved to train a 19-year-old Luke Skywalker.
Rather, it is still the case that the one and only Chosen One is Anakin Skywalker, a being who was conceived by the will of the Force itself, and who had no father. But Rey does share the mission of the Chosen One, as indicated by Anakin's words on Exegol.
While little is known about Yoda's species, we do know, however, that they're incredibly gifted in the Force. Both Jedi Master Yaddle, and now Grogu, hold great Force powers, but no Jedi Master has ever held greater power than Jedi Master Yoda.
During the battle, Anakin, who had been known as the Sith Lord Darth Vader, was redeemed by Luke and brought balance to the Force. However, the redemption cost Anakin his life, having been mortally wounded by the Emperor, Darth Sidious, while killing his former Master.
While the Star Wars audience knows this and can accept the fact that Luke isn't the only Jedi in the galaxy anymore, Yoda never had the chance to, and that's why he still believes Luke to be the last Jedi left when he faces his trial and becomes a Jedi Knight.
By the time of Return of the Jedi, Luke is considered a Jedi Knight. But even at this level, his abilities seem to pale in comparison to the average Jedi from the prequel trilogy. Aside from Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi is also weak in the original trilogy compared to himself in the prequels.
Yoda told him he needed no weapons, but Luke took them anyway. And here is where he failed. Luke was unwilling to listen to his master and as such did not heed the lessons he was taught. The first of which was a Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack.
