Board Thread:Episode Discussion/@comment-4141313-20190119003858/@comment-4141313-20190126081410

We can say that Mercury is stronger than the Student Main Characters. Mercury's never truly lost on-screen, even killing his experienced assassin father, and his only losses on-screen were fights he threw for the sake of Cinder's plans, as in Pyrrha and Yang. His off-screen loss too was a result of numbers more than strength, as by then Hazel ran out of juice and it Mercury, Emerald, and a Weakened Hazel against six students, Qrow, and Ozcar.

As for the adults, he's likely weaker, as while his dad was most likely skilled, in a similar vein to Adam knowing Blake's fighting style, Mercury likely knew his dad's, plus his dad was possibly innebriated during the fight. It helps upon seeing Qrow and Winter fighting, he instantly bolted thinking Qrow could have recognized him, demonstrating his lack of confidence in facing him.

Emerald however is harder to gauge, but she's likely the weakest of Cinder's group. She tends to favor mental manipulation rather than straight on fighting, using her semblance to disorient her opponents. She's had fewer on screen fights, but in the few she's had, she's relied on her semblance to catch her opponents off-guard like with Coco, Ruby, and Yang. Even in the fight with Amber, Emerald was the first one to be nearly beaten, and would have been killed by Amber had Cinder not sent an arrow into her back. So in a straight up fight, Emerald is likely equal to or weaker than the main characters without the use of her semblance.