User blog comment:The.Outsider/Battle Time!/@comment-2065587-20140304204630

Take into account that we only get glimpses of several of these people: personally Aquilus didn't impress me -- but again, we didn't see as much of him as of Altair, Connor, Ezio or even Orelov! Also many people seem to make the mistake that, if character A beats character B, and then C beats A, then C is better than B -- this is not true, anyone who's read fighting texts knows this. 

That said, I'm kinda divided here... I can't judge Aquilus, haven't barely read the comics, so I'll leave him to the side for now; Aveline and Orelov I know have really impressive fighting skills (Aveline handling like 6 people almost bare-handed in Lib HD... whoa!); Edward I know is remarkable, but honestly I don't think he'd last a face-off with, say, Orelov. Just my thought. Haytham, I have to admit, is a strangely dangerous opponent -- one would think all his manner and gear would weigh him down, but he felt like a true, killing-machine badass in AC3's earlier moments. He's a dangerous man on a primal level: at his peak, I've no doubt he'd be a fearsome and deadly match for Connor -- and may even bring him down. However he seems not to take on pain as easily as, say, Connor, but still better than Ezio.

Now, the holy trinity... xD The contest would be tight between Altair, Ezio and Connor, and rightdown chaotic if they fought all at the same time. Altair's (apparent?) unfamiliarity with gunpowder-arms would be a big minus against both Ezio and Connor (Connor has a higher firing rate with 2 flintlocks, but Ezio has the sneaky hidden-gun), but he could play it to his advantage if the other two underestimate him (Connor, having no knowledge of Altair's Codex, would fall prey to this). Altair would, however, be vulnerable to other ranged weapons -- poisoned darts and the rope-dart could be his downfall -- so I think Altair would have to strike first, strike best and strike silently if he wants to win.

Between Connor and Ezio, I gotta say the tables don't turn to either's side, except in particular occassions. I'd say that, Ezio being more armored than Connor, he'd have the upper hand in the long-range scenario (even with Connor using his pistols or bow); but Connor does have an impressive, almost Terminator-esque ability to soak damage (last sequences of AC3), so it'd be an uncertain wager. If Ezio and Connor got up close, and fought face to face, I'd be worried for Ezio. Have you seen Connor? He's the closest thing in the Assassinsverse to Tom Hardy's Bane, and he's clearly the physically strongest and most agile Assassin we've seen to this date. Ezio is, unquestionably, a combat pragmatist -- out of skill, he can kill a frickin' crowd bare-fisted! He'd wrench his enemies' weapons, and use them against them (Revelations trailer, anyone?). However, how he'd cope with Connor's brute strength -- and almost insensibility to pain! --, I'd have to think about. Ezio's hidden-gun, in close-quarters, could be decisive, as Connor wouldn't expect it (even knowing about it, he'd probably stop thinking about guns instinctively when fighting hand-to-hand) and it could severely hinder him, or open up his guard for Ezio to finish him off.

All in all, I'd put the 'power-level' (best = 1, worst = 5) something like this:

? - Aquilus (moar data required!)

5 - Edward (tricky basterd, but falling short of the others)

4 - Aveline, Nikolai (surprising fighters, resourceful)

3 - Altair (best stealther, by a long shot, amongst all these)

2 - Haytham (extremely dangerous opponent)

1 - Connor, Ezio (balanced abilities, particularly, would mean advantage in battle would be mostly circumstance-driven)