Raven

It's pretty safe to say the Hokage back then were quite powerful. I mean Yamato sealed Yonbi Naruto (who was on par with Orochimaru) and Yamato states Shodai being superior to him even though he passed away.

Also, spirit and willpower can make up most of a fighters abilities. Without spirit and willpower the fight would have no meaning in the end. The "significance" of the fight is what makes one take a tremendous effort in it. Walking zombies of what used to be great aren't impressive because they lack certain aspects, as Island stated before me.

I believe Shodai and Yondaime are greater than Sandaime, I feel that Nidaime is weaker than him though (although he's the only person I've seen that has water wielding prowess like Kisame). These are simply my thoughts I want to express. I will say that if Shodai > Kyuubi + Madara...well that states in itself just how strong he was. We haven't seen the likes of anyone who can take both Kyuubi and Madara currently (imo, well one but it's still a stretch). I do agree with new generations>old though. I mean look at how fast Naruto masters Rasengan and its variants, simply impressive compared to how long it took Yondaime to master it.

__________________

Favorite Quotes:
"Everyone dies, it's a natural part of life. But if your life has no meaning you're already dead." -Wolf's Rain, Kiba

"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost."
-Fullmetal Alchemist, Alphonse Elric

"It's not what folks say...it's what you answer to." -Madea Movie, Madea

"Deploying resilience is more important than being a prodigy." -Life, Me