Okay, sorry for resurrecting this topic, but I need to point something out. First of all, I'm a major fan of the Elder Scrolls, especially Skyrim (I have nearly 8,000 hours logged). I know a pretty decent amount of lore in the Elder Scrolls as well, but not too much. I am also a huge fan of Tolkien, and I know The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings like the back of my hand. So, I'm pretty neutral about this.
First, we need to talk about size comparison. I know Skyrim megafans are going to say, "bUt hE's a GAwD", and I don't really care. That doesn't matter at this point. With this test, we are going to go by Smaug in the films, and Alduin mostly in-game. I will still refer to lore for Alduin, but there is little lore about his size that isn't considered mythical and exaggerated.
We can safely assume that Alduin has a wingspan of 15 meters, and a length of 15 meters. That's being generous. Since I'm an American, I'll convert that to feet, which is roughly 50 feet long and a wingspan of 50 feet. And no, I am not considering Alduin to be the size of Nirn in this, because I'm going at the time of their "deaths" in The Hobbit and in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Alduin wasn't bigger than any other dragon whatsoever. Plus, I can't find any lore that has confirmed that he has ever reached that size. If you really want me to be super generous, I'll double Alduin's size so that he's 30 meters long and has a wingspan of 30 meters.
Smaug, in the films, is a whopping 130 meters long, with roughly 120-meter wingspan. Wow. Or, if I am going to downplay his size, some speculate that he is roughly 60 meters long, and has a wingspan of 50 meters. But that isn't considered to be accurate.
So far, Smaug has 1 point, and Alduin has 0.
Next, we have abilities. We will start with Alduin.
Alduin, nicknamed "The World-Eater", is indeed considered a very powerful dragon. He is the firstborn of Akatosh and is considered to be a god. While many people have already talked about his feats, I would like to point some things out. Alduin conquered Skyrim with an army of dragons, which were considered to be divine beings themselves. However, all dragons can technically die. They can potentially be reborn unless the Dovahkiin absorbs their souls, but we have seen several times where dragons were slain by mere mortals. Take the game, for example. I went to drop off some excess gear in Riverwood, and a frost dragon pops by for a quick bite. Fucking Gerdur of Riverwood slaps his ass back to Oblivion. "Oh, but Silver, that's a game mechanic: they're meant to be able to die because the player has to have a way to kill them!" Well, buddy, to that I have to say, read the Dragon Elder Scroll at the time rift on top of the Throat of the World, and hear Gormlaith discuss her slaying like ten of them that day alone, as well as her allies.
But I digress. Alduin has the Thu'um, which comes naturally to dragons. They are masters of the Thu'um themselves. This is nothing to gloss over, considering that there are some pretty powerful shouts. A lot of you have pointed out the shout where he rains meteors upon the earth. Well, friends, they aren't very powerful (even in legendary difficulty), and it doesn't last long. However, with Smaug's sheer size, it'll be hard to dodge the meteors. But there's a way he can, which I will discuss next. The Thu'um isn't the most powerful thing, either. It's definitely an advantage, but you have to be able to hit the target for it to count. I know how annoying it is trying to use Dragonrend to get that fucking dragon out of the sky, and it all of a sudden jukes you out and pulls a 180 and dodges it.
Alduin is also not the fastest dragon either. As I said before, he's no larger, nor any faster, than any dragon in Skyrim. This is a very rough estimation, but Alduin may be able to fly anywhere from 40-80 mph. That's my in-game estimation, and I believe a fair speed compared to dragon speed in Skyrim. There's nowhere that tells how fast he can fly. We can think about the speed he traveled going from Nirn to Sovngarde, but you must remember that, during that time, the Dragonborn had to convince the Jarl of Whiterun to let him capture a dragon in Dragonsreach, and if he didn't solve the civil war, he would have to assemble a council of Tullius and Ulfric at High Hrothgar, learn the shout to summon Odahviing, call Odahviing, manage to capture him and lure him into the trap, and then finally convince Odahviing to bring him to the portal to Sovngarde. Which, now that I think about it, he could have done much quicker just asking Paarthurnax. But that doesn't matter. I would also like to point out that yes, despite the dragons knowing Whirlwind Sprint, it's not going to do them any good since it'll only boost them forward, and since they are so large, it won't be very significant. However, Alduin is also considered to be immortal. Even when "killed", he is still destined to come back to try and devour the world. So this is an advantage for Alduin, but in the fight, not much of one.
Smaug's speed is believed to be 200kph, which can be rounded down to 124mph. This is his speed, despite his large size. So if he was the size of Alduin, it'd be like a sloth trying to swat at a hummingbird. Smaug also has large, large wings that create gusts of wind so strong, they can nearly snap old, deep-rooted trees in half. Smaug also has VERY strong scales. I cannot stress the toughness of dragon-scales in Middle Earth. It's like Mithril for a human, except all over the body. Smaug was also remarked to have melted the ground he slept and walked upon, with how searingly hot his fire is. His claws are massive and sharp, and his teeth are the same way. He can crush stone with ease.
So, Alduin has the Thu'um, and "immortality" (which does not mean he cannot be defeated). He can also fly to Sovngarde and devour souls to heal himself. In addition, as I have just discovered, Alduin has 50% resistance to fire, which will come in handy against Smaug.
Smaug has practically impenetrable scales, razor-sharp claws, razor-sharp teeth, and a massive size advantage. He also beats Alduin in physical strength, as Alduin landed on top of the Helgen tower and didn't do any damage to it with his body, while Smaug crushed half of the city while strutting through it.
Smaug 2, Alduin 0.
Here's how I imagine the battle would play out.
It will be on the planet Nirn, in the continent of Tamriel, in the province of Skyrim. The citizens of Falkreath see a massive beast flying over the land, far larger than anything they have ever seen. "Dragon!" They shout, and they flee to their homes. When the beast flies past the settlement, the trees crack and groan, and many are torn from their roots and snap in half. The Great and Powerful Smaug finds himself face to face with Alduin, the World-Eater, who just found his match. With a mighty shout, Alduin calls upon the skies to unleash meteors upon the land, and upon Smaug. He also uses "Soul Tear" to weaken Smaug. But Smaug is far too fast for the shout and manages to weave around it. Before Alduin knows it, Alduin's throat is in the jaws of Smaug. Due to Alduin's tough scales, it is difficult for Smaug's teeth to pierce through Alduin's throat. However, he does manage to crush the throat, rendering Alduin without shouts. Flaming rocks crash into Smaug and Alduin, throwing them apart from each other. With his chest and throat glowing a brilliant orange, Smaug blasts Alduin with a searing blast of fire. Alduin is effected by the flames, but not as much as Smaug would desire. While Alduin is attempting to recover from the blast, Smaug has him back in his grasp. A large meteor crashes into the two, and they are dragged to the thick forests of Falkreath Hold. Trees are flattened, the ground rumbles and both are attempting to recover from the blast. At this moment, the meteor showers clear up, and Smaug makes his way towards Alduin, crushing the massive meteors with ease under his massive weight. He rears up on his hind legs, revealing a beautiful display of his scales. Alduin notices a small bare spot on his left breast and decides to play the defensive until he gets an opportunity to attempt a strike. Alduin flies into the air to attempt to escape Smaug, but before he can even lift himself above the trees he tore down, Smaug has Alduin's tail in his jaws. Alduin is thrown to the ground, pinned on his belly, where his wings are nearly torn from his back. Smaug uses his massive physical strength to snap Alduin's neck, and nearly tear his jaw from his head. Smaug is victorious, but Alduin will return again..
So, that's just my view on it, and how I believe it could play out. Remember, immortality does NOT mean immunity. Alduin may be immortal, but that means that he lives beyond time. Even if Smaug would win, it doesn't mean that Alduin cannot return and try again. In fact, it means that Alduin would return and attempt once again to devour the world.
TL;DR, Smaug has advantages with speed, strength, size, and wits. While both are considered very cunning, Smaug actually shows it, and Alduin just does what any other dragon does. Smaug manages to render Alduin useless in the way of Thu'ums due to Alduin's throat being crushed by Smaug. He is defeated when Smaug pins him on his belly and snaps his neck and jaw.
Anyways, thanks for reading! I know my knowledge on the Elder Scrolls may be lacking, but I'm sick of seeing Skyrim fans saying "ALDUIN WOULD GODSTOMP HURDURR". Like, come on, this battle is something that needs to have everything considered, and there simply isn't any reason besides being able to come back after some amount of time for Alduin to win. He doesn't have the speed, the size, the strength, nor the cunning to win the battle.
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