Anakin and Obi Wan confront Dooku on the Invisible Hand, like in ROTS. Dooku senses Palpatine's betrayal, so instead of engaging the two Jedi, he reveals to them that Palpatine is the Dark Lord. Suddenly, Obi Wan is hurled backwards against a wall, knocking him out. Since Anakin had been watching Dooku's every move, he realizes that Palpatine really is Darth Sidious, and he decides to team with Dooku to wipe out the greatest threat in the galaxy.
Can Anakin and Dooku beat Sidious, eliminating the Dark Lord?
Starting point - Anakin and Dooku are 5 foot away from Sidious, whose hands are cuffed.
As they are portrayed in Revenge of the Sith, Darth Sidious would rather easily take them out. As they are portrayed in Attack of the Clones, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and other subsequent media, Darth Tyranus and Anakin Skywalker will successfully destroy the supreme Dark Lord of the Sith.
If Anakin is conflicted, he could very well screw up causing Dooku to die. Then Anakin likely wouldn't do very well defending himself while conflicted
If his head is clear, whether he's amped or not, either of the team individually would give him a great fight, and together they win. Palpatine would be constantly battered by Anakin's strikes and if he let's one mistake slip by, Dooku's gonna take advantage and kill him.
@lord_tenebrous: could you please elaborate on their depiction in AOTC compared to ROTS? Are you talking about Dooku's power, Sidious' power or Anakin's power in that respect?
@lord_tenebrous: could you please elaborate on their depiction in AOTC compared to ROTS? Are you talking about Dooku's power, Sidious' power or Anakin's power in that respect?
I do not mean that the characters leapfrogged in power, resulting in my opinion of this thread's outcome. I meant, quite simply, that it seems George Lucas changed his mind by the time of Revenge of the Sith in regard to how characters such as Master Yoda, Mace Windu, and the Emperor compare to the other characters as overall combatants. Darth Sidious is portrayed as untouchable in the prequel's final installment, save for the two aforementioned Jedi Masters, whereas everywhere else he's handled as reasonably vulnerable, though still on top. Endangered by Dooku & Obi-Wan, Tyranus & Ventress, Vader & Luke.
@lord_tenebrous: ah, that makes sense. I see where you're coming from, though it's always confusing for me. For example, Yoda fights Dooku in AOTC and while Yoda was undoubtedly better, was tired afterwards. In ROTS, Yoda disarms Sidious and then stalemates in the force. However, we see in TCW that Sidious is way above Dooku and doesn't seem to think he's a threat unless he has someone like Ventress too.
Without TCW, I could see it as Sidious>=Yoda>Dooku
But with the Canon material we have it seems more like Sidious>=Yoda>>>Dooku
Another question: do you think in universe, Dooku or Yoda's power changed between AOTC and ROTS? I could see Sidious potentially growing more powerful as the dark side became stronger throughout the war, but I don't know if Yoda or Dooku's power changed.
@primejedi: Yoda was more powerful that Sidious in ROTS, and he didn’t disarm him. Sidious threw his lightsaber away because he thought his best chance was lightning.
The fight came down to high ground. Sidious consistently had it. When he didn’t, he ran from Yoda.
EDIT: My fact was challenged about Sidious throwing away his lightsaber. If I find it, I will upload the scan.
Duo take it, especially since Sidious starts out cuffed. Sidious believed that Dooku and a slightly stronger Ventress were capable of overthrowing him.
@jedisympathiz3r: Maybe I messed up a fact. I was pretty sure Star Wars Theory had the text in a video, but I just checked the Stover novelization, and I didn't see it. I will take that one back.
ah, that makes sense. I see where you're coming from, though it's always confusing for me. For example, Yoda fights Dooku in AOTC and while Yoda was undoubtedly better, was tired afterwards. In ROTS, Yoda disarms Sidious and then stalemates in the force.
However, we see in TCW that Sidious is way above Dooku and doesn't seem to think he's a threat unless he has someone like Ventress too.
Without TCW, I could see it as Sidious>=Yoda>Dooku
But with the Canon material we have it seems more like Sidious>=Yoda>>>Dooku
An issue, I think, would be one of your premises: Emperor Palpatine being "way above" Count Dooku, given their portrayal in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. I wouldn't really say that -- though I get where you're coming from -- for the show doesn't truly depict a significant gap between Darth Sidious and Lord Tyranus; rather decisive, sure, but not vast. If anything, the assistance of Asajj Ventress constituting a real threat to the Emperor speaks well of Darth Tyranus, whose powers markedly eclipse that of his own apprentice, elite as she is. The Force flows throughout all the galaxy, and for the Emperor to briefly inflict pain on his underling for failure would be in keeping with Sith philosophy. I suppose that if we expected Tyranus, against all odds, to resist his master's anger by himself, it's not as though the apprentice could successfully stave off the master.
That animated show constitutes its own world, however -- Dave Filoni's interpretation of exactly how much effort Master Yoda exerted against Count Dooku on Geonosis is, to the best of my recollection, unknown at the present; save only that Count Dooku remained confident in his ability to handle Yoda, expressing as much via hologram to the ancient Jedi when Asajj Ventress found herself utterly outclassed:
[Asajj Ventress flees]
Master Yoda: Hm. In the end, cowards are those who follow the dark side.
Count Dooku: It's a pity I wasn't there in person, my old master.
Master Yoda: A pity, indeed, my fallen apprentice.
So I would suppose that, in whatever fashion their personal contest went down, Yoda's superiority was not so glaring as to hit home that the Count hadn't a real shot a victory.
We do know that show's perception of how Master Yoda compares to Lord Tyranus' master, Darth Sidious, for the writers got to make their own version of Episode III's climatic showdown under the shield of it technically being a Force vision. As in the film, Yoda holds the upper hand in lightsaber combat, and after a moment of seeming disadvantage, overpowers the Emperor with the Force:
Therefore, I imagine that Count Dooku's confidence would be somewhat misplaced. In Star Wars: The Clone Wars, that is.
In the films, and canon continuity, I would agree that there's some confusion in terms of how Master Yoda, Darth Sidious, and Count Dooku are portrayed relative to each other. Regarding the Geonosis duel, in Attack of the Clones itself, the two elders are portrayed as equals in the Force. Such was the intent of George Lucas at the time -- considering the two to be peers, Lucas saw no point in adding a Force battle, for the characters would realize the futility of such an endeavor quite quickly. Nevertheless, Lucas succumbed to pressure from his team and penned the scene, envisioning a stalemate in the Force:
"I started out doing it fairly conservatively where he just came and fought, that really didn't work. And it was actually uh... much of the people sort of in editorial were saying, 'y'know we gotta make more out of this, you gotta use Jedi powers, you gotta, you can't just go right into the swordfight.' So, I decided to go back to the Empire Strikes Back of throwing things at each other even though I knew they were equals of each other, so it was a hopeless gesture, they would have figured that out in two seconds. For the audience it actually, it's nice for them to go through this process of everyone throwing everything around."
~ George Lucas, "Attack of the Clones" Archival Crew/Cast Commentary
~ Star Wars Archives: The Prequel Trilogy
And of course, Darth Sidious is supposed to be stronger than Lord Tyranus in this film, as Lucas also expressed:
"I was able to get in this little thing of: put two Sith together, and they try to get others to join them, to get rid of the other Sith. So, Dooku's ambition here is really to get rid of Darth Sidious, and he's trying to get Obi-Wan's assistance in that, and help in that. So that he and Obi-Wan could overthrow Sidious and take over. And it's exactly the same scene as when Darth Vader does it with Luke, to try to get rid of Sidious. So whenever you get too many people, together, with these Sith Lords, they all gang up, and they all try to get rid of the strongest one. And they'll try and get rid of each other, so the one facet of the Sith reality is that they're constantly plotting against each other, and therefore there can't be more than two of them at any time."
~ George Lucas, "Attack of the Clones" Archival Cast/Crew Commentary
Leaving us with the following ranking: Darth Sidious > Darth Tyranus = Master Yoda
It goes down easier, though, for we know this is by no significant margin, as Tyranus and Yoda are described as ultimate masters of the Force -- beyond mastery, as it so happens. Therefore, if any mortal could eclipse them, it would be almost negligible, for they're all of the top tier:
"I made an argument to George: Yoda and Dooku are, are masters -- they're beyond masters. They've long graduated from having to literally wield lightsabers against each other -- this could be more of a battle-of-the-wizards."
According to Episode II's animation director, Rob Coleman, "George felt that Star Wars fans had been waiting a long time for this moment, and that they wanted to see Yoda in combat. He wanted us to show Yoda ferociously leaping and fighting, not just standing his ground and deflecting incoming attacks. The results had to be an amazing clash between the forces of good and evil with two ultimate masters of opposite sides of the Force in head-to-head combat." This is, of course, exactly what the audience got to see.
~ Star Wars: Adventures Magazine #1
One ought also to take into account the fact that, in this film, Yoda's connection to the Force has been established as diminished compared to before:
Thus, it isn't even that George Lucas believes Yoda and Dooku to be true equals in the Force. Rather, the Count is equal only to a weakened Yoda, and both are but slightly less powerful than the Emperor. Logically, then, speaking of Master Yoda in his prime -- before his powers dampen as a result of the dark side's galactic prevalence -- he would stand above Darth Tyranus, and perhaps be equal to or stronger than Darth Sidious. It is in this film that Count Dooku believes the Dark Lord of the Sith would fall if Obi-Wan Kenobi assisted in the effort.
However, this was only George Lucas' intent when he wrote Episode II. As Lucasfilm continuity manager Leland Chee noted, Lucas rather frequently changed his mind on minor aspects of his films such as power levels, even after committing previous points of view to screen:
Case in point: we see quite plainly in Episode III that the Emperor himself cannot stand before the Grandmaster's power, fleeing and cringing when confronted with the Light:
This cannot be, if indeed Lord Tyranus was equal to Master Yoda, for the servant is not greater than the master. To terrify Darth Sidious himself is to demonstrate power beyond that of Sidious' pupils, Tyranus included.
Likewise, in canon continuity, the multitude of different published takes on the matter result in something of a mess. In the Attack of the Clones junior novelization, Yoda is depicted as well above the Count, comfortably handling the lightning barrage before utterly outclassing his former Padawan in physical combat:
“Master Yoda.” The Count’s tone was almost scornful, but Yoda sensed an eagerness in him -- eagerness, and something darker. Dooku face hardened as he went on, “You’ve interfered with our plans for the last time.”
Plans of conquest, Yoda thought sadly. But a Jedi seeks not power. Truly, Dooku had left the path of the Jedi Order. He felt Dooku gathering power, and he bowed his head in shock and sorrow as he sensed the true source of the Count’s increased ability. An instant later, Dooku raised his hands and sent a stream of deadly Force lightning toward him.
Yoda blocked the lightning automatically, grieved by this final evidence of Dooku’s change in allegiance. Only those who turned to the dark side of the Force misused their abilities so. This he had feared ever since Count Dooku left the Jedi Order, but only now was he certain. His old student had not just left the path of the Jedi; he had betrayed everything he had once stood for. He had joined the dark side. “Much to learn you still have,” Yoda told him.
A startled expression crossed Dooku’s face at the utter failure of his attack. Then his eyes narrowed. He lowered his hands and replied, “It is obvious that this contest will not be decided by our knowledge of the Force, but by our skills with the lightsaber.” As he spoke, he reignited his weapon and whirled it in the formal salute that Yoda remembered teaching him some fifty years before.
Yoda drew his lightsaber and answered the salute. In contests, he had no interest, but in stopping Count Dooku, he had a great deal of interest indeed. And Dooku had left him no other choice.
Count Dooku charged forward. Yoda sighed. Nothing has he learned. Nothing has he remembered. He closed his eyes, bowed his head, and felt the Force that bound all things, even himself and the Count. His lightsaber moved effortlessly, flowing with the Force to find the balance point between them and block Dooku’s every stroke. He did not even have to step back.
The Count’s attack grew more desperate, to no avail. Breathing hard, he backed away, but Yoda did not pursue him. To stop Dooku was all that was necessary, and he could not pass Yoda to reach his Solar Sailer.
The Count slowed once more, then stopped, his blade braced against Yoda’s. Yoda could feel him drawing on the dark side in an attempt to press Yoda’s weapon back, but the dark side was only an easier path, not a stronger one. Backed by the full power of the true Force, Yoda’s lightsaber was unmovable.
“Fought well, you have, my old Padawan,” Yoda said gently, giving him the truth, though he knew that the Count would not want to hear it. Count Dooku had never been happy to merely fight well; the best he must be, always. But not this time.
The Star Wars website databank echoes the idea of Yoda easily negating Count Dooku's power, while Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection and Skywalker: Family At War continue the idea of Yoda badly overmatching Dooku blade-to-blade:
The Sith claimed to be more powerful than any Jedi, but Yoda easily absorbed his Force lightning attack. “Much to learn you still have,” he said. With that, the two fought a furious lightsaber duel, which ended with Dooku making a hasty exit.
Master and apprentice would have perished that day along with the countless others dead on Geonosis if not for the swift interference of Jedi Master Yoda.
For hundreds of years, the Force-attuned Yoda had been using his wisdom as a teacher and a guide to shepherd thousands of eager young Jedi through the Temple. At that moment, on Geonosis, Yoda was forced to face the monster his lost student had become, and resolved to atone for the evil Dooku had helped bring forth.
With patience and skill that surpassed most other living Jedi, Yoda deflected Dooku’s malicious lightning. The two briefly clashed lightsabers, but Dooku could see he would always be an inferior student to Yoda’s superior skill. In desperation, he reached out through the Force to move a massive column toward the crumpled forms of Obi-Wan and Anakin, knowing Yoda’s conscience would not permit him to sacrifice the Jedi even for a chance to eliminate the threat before him.
With Yoda distracted by saving Obi-Wan and Anakin from certain death, Dooku fled for Coruscant with vital plans for his master’s ultimate coup -- a superweapon that could lay entire planets to waste.
How can such a standing be, though, when in Stories of Jedi and Sith: Masters, Darth Sidious muses that only those nearly as powerful as himself are permitted to become his apprentice, thereby establishing that Lords Maul, Vader and Tyranus were all quite close to him in dark side strength?
He has had many names. Some given. Some earned. Some taken.
It was the first name of power he took for himself. A secret name, an invocation of the dark side. Spoken by his first devotee and by every apprentice since. Said with fear and awe, by those who have earned the right. The weak call him Emperor. It is only those nearly as strong as him in the dark side who know his best name.
Are we to believe that Master Yoda, being considerably stronger than Dooku, must also be a whole lot stronger than the Count's slight superior, Darth Sidious?
Can we turn to another source? Lightsabers: A Guide to Weapons of the Force goes the opposite direction, contending that Yoda and Dooku were equally matched as Force wielders, even if it does still grant that Yoda's sword skills were peerless -- greater than that of Lord Sidious or Master Windu, to say nothing of Dooku:
That goes too far, though, for Stories of Jedi and Sith: Masters goes on to describe an even conflict between Master Yoda and the Emperor. Count Dooku cannot be Grandmaster Yoda's equal in the Force, yet lesser than Yoda's equal, Darth Sidious -- well, more accurately, Yoda cannot be equal to Sidious if Tyranus is his match:
The Force lightning blazes to life in Sidious’s veins, reaching hungrily for the old Jedi. Caught, Yoda is flung back, hitting the wall of the Office of the Chancellor hard.
“I have waited a long time for this moment, my little green friend,” Sidious says as he stalks closer. Yoda does not move, except for the harsh rattle of his breath. Sidious laughs to see it. “At last the Jedi are no more.”
Yoda pushes himself up and glares. “Not if anything to say about it I have!” He leaps up and with a pulse of the Force sends Sidious flying back into the opposite wall.
“At an end your rule is. And not short enough it was.” With that, Yoda puts his feet in a battle-ready stance.
Sidious gets to his own feet. He has no need to duel this already defeated Jedi. He turns to go, but Yoda jumps in front of him and pushes back his cloak to reveal his lightsaber.
“If so powerful you are,” Yoda taunts, “why leave?"
“You will not stop me,” Sidious says. His rage fuels him, drawing sparks of the dark side closer and closer. “Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us.”
Yoda’s ridiculously little lightsaber flares to life, brilliant green. “Faith in your new apprentice misplaced may be. As is your faith in the dark side of the Force.”
In reply Darth Sidious merely ignites his own lightsaber. The angry red fills him with eager cruelty, and he laughs. There is no need for faith in the dark side. The greater power of the dark side is simply a fact.
He attacks with another harsh laugh. Yoda flips up and around, parrying the attack and spinning with his own. The little Jedi Master is fast and bouncy, his movements making him difficult to pin down -- but Darth Sidious meets him blow for blow. He cannot be defeated.
Their battle takes them to the half circles of the Chancellor’s podium, sparks flying as their lightsabers clash. Using the Force, Sidious moves the lever that causes the podium to rise.
The ceiling spirals back, opening like a great eye, and beneath their feet the podium moves. It rises up and up like the Galactic Empire itself, into the Senate Chamber, a vast cave lined with over a thousand repulsorpods stacked in coiling petals. It is empty, silent, a theater without an audience for this showdown between Darth Sidious and one of the last Jedi Masters.
The two continue their battle, furiously, green and red lightsabers flashing together and apart. Darth Sidious laughs and laughs, his cruel cackle echoing against Yoda’s grunts of effort. Sidious is enjoying himself. Crushing this old Jedi will taste sharp and sweet. But they are well matched. It is a rough fight. Exactly what Sidious craves.
A hard blow has him leaping away from the podium. He pulls on the Force to carry him across the cavernous Senate Chamber to land in one of the half-circle repulsorpods. Gleefully, he uses the Force to rip a different pod away from its berth and fling it at Yoda. He takes another and flings it, too. And another.
Yoda dodges, leaping away, but Sidious chases him, destroying pod after pod, like pulling scales one by one off the massive body of a krayt dragon. The old Jedi tires and turns, and Sidious has him! He flings a repulsorpod, but Yoda catches it with the Force, both little green hands extended. Sidious laughs again, heady with the fury of the dark side. Suddenly the pod spins,and Yoda yanks it out of Sidious’s control. The Jedi drives it directly at Sidious!
He has to leap out of its way, and the pod crashes into the one upon which he’d been standing with an explosion of sparks and fire. The thin smoke billows, and Sidious turns, leaps again, hunting for the Jedi Master. Where could the Jedi have hidden? Surely he did not slink away already in defeat!
Suddenly Yoda is there, hopping too fast to track, and Darth Sidious flings Force lightning at him. But Master Yoda catches it.
They face each other, cold blue lightning tying them together. Blue is reflected all around them, especially in the Jedi’s determined, desperate golden eyes. Darth Sidious is tiring. He grins his worst grin and prepares a final assault with all the power of the dark side.
As if he sensed it, Yoda shoves back with a final burst of strength. Their power clashes, violently blowing them apart. Darth Sidious catches himself on the rail of a repulsorpod, gasping for breath. He can barely breathe, energy surging through him as he pulls himself up. He turns to look for Master Yoda, laughing again.
All he sees is the Jedi’s ugly brown cloak drifting down like discarded trash.
(The clone soldiers come, and they do not find a body.)
In fact, the aforementioned source, in describing a stalemate between Yoda and Sidious, walks in accordance with that which is portrayed in several other mediums -- The Complete Visual Dictionary, Galactic Atlas, Star Wars: Jedi vs Sith:
Others, though, write Yoda prevailing over the Emperor in physical combat, but more or less drawing when it comes to the Force -- if any edge was present in that category, the Sith Lord had it:
“Master Yoda.” The Emperor inclined his head. “You survived.”
“Surprised?”
“Your arrogance blinds you, Master Yoda,” Darth Sidious hissed. “Now you will experience the full power of the dark side.” He raised his arms, and the Force pulsed as blue lightning blasted Yoda across the room.
Mas Amedda looked from the Chancellor to Yoda, his eyes narrowed maliciously. He turned and left the room. Another wave of dark power lifted Yoda and flung him hard against the wall. Yoda used the Force to cushion the impact, but he pretended to be knocked unconscious. A surprise, I will give him.
“I have waited a long time for this moment, my little green friend,” Darth Sidious sneered. He stepped forward, and Yoda pushed off, propelling himself straight at the Sith Lord. He knocked Darth Sidious over the desk and stared down at him.
“At an end your rule is,” Yoda told the Emperor. “And not short enough it was, I must say.” He ignited his lightsaber and brought it down, to be met by the Emperor’s blood-red Sith blade.
Strong, this Sith Lord is, Yoda thought as their lightsabers whirled and clashed and whirled again. It should not have been a surprise. With the strength of the dark side growing, the Sith must, logically, have grown stronger, too. But always before, his own years of study and practice and his own strength with the Force had been more than enough to prevail. This time, he wasn’t sure.
But Palpatine didn’t seem entirely sure, either. Suddenly, he launched himself into the air, heading for the door. Yoda did a back flip, bounced off the wall, and reached the entrance before him. “If so powerful you are, why leave?”
“You will not stop me,” the new Emperor croaked. “Darth Vader will become more powerful than either of us.”
“Faith in your new apprentice, misplaced may be,” Yoda replied. "As is your faith in the dark side of the Force."
Even if Palpatine killed him here, today, the dark side would not truly win. For the dark side was anger, hatred, despair -- all the forces of ruin and decay. Powerful, they were, to tear down and destroy, but they could not build anything lasting. Palpatine’s ten-thousand-year Galactic Empire would be lucky to outlast his lifetime.
That thought gave Yoda new energy, and he pressed his attack. He drove Palpatine back across the room, into the Chancellor’s podium. Palpatine hit the controls, and the podium began to rise, carrying him up into the Senate. But the podium moved slowly; Yoda had plenty of time to flip himself into the air and land beside the Emperor, to continue the fight.
As the podium rose into the Senate arena, the fight intensified. Twice, Yoda came near to pushing Palpatine over the edge. They were high enough now that a fall could be fatal, even to a Sith Lord. Or a Jedi Master. The cramped space within the pod left little room for maneuvering.
An end, I must make. Yoda redoubled the speed of his blows. Palpatine parried one, then another -- and then the red lightsaber spun out of his hands and over the edge. Yoda raised his weapon for the final blow.
Force lightning spat from the Emperor’s gray fingers, surrounding Yoda in a blue nimbus. But Yoda had faced Force lightning before. To deflect the first bolts, he had to stop his intended strike at the Emperor. Once his initial surprise was over, he reached out to the living Force. The lightning bent, arcing back toward the Emperor.
“Destroy you, I will,” Yoda said grimly. “Just as Master Kenobi, your apprentice will destroy.”
The Sith Lord only redoubled his attack. Hurling Force lightning, the Emperor backed away, to the very edge of the platform. Following him was like walking against hurricane winds. Never had Yoda faced one so strong in the dark side. Before he came within reach, a particularly strong blast knocked Yoda out of the pod.
As he plunged over the edge, Yoda realized that Palpatine was right about one thing. He, Yoda, had indeed been arrogant. It is a flaw more and more common among Jedi, he had told Obi-Wan once. Too sure of themselves, they are. And he had fallen into the same trap himself.
He landed much sooner than he had expected, in an empty Senate pod floating below the Chancellor’s. As he climbed to his feet, the pod jerked, throwing him sideways and knocking him down once more. Palpatine was using the dark side to rip more pods free, crashing them into Yoda’s pod to keep him off-balance.
This game, two can play. Yoda reached out with the Force and caught one of the hurtling pods. He threw it back at Palpatine, who barely dodged in time. Then Yoda leaped, using the flying pods to get back up to the Chancellor’s level.
As he reached Palpatine’s pod, the Sith Lord hit him with another blast of blue lightning that knocked Yoda’s lightsaber out of his hand. Palpatine’s lips curled in anticipated triumph, and the dark side pulsed as he drew even more Force lightning to his bidding.
Yoda caught it. The blue energy built into a glowing ball in his hand, ready to throw back at the Sith Lord the moment his attack stopped. But Palpatine didn’t stop; the Force lightning came in a steady crackle, building more and more, until neither of them could hold it any longer, and the blast knocked them both out of the pod.
Palpatine was larger and heavier; he managed to catch hold of the edge of the pod as he fell. But Yoda was small and light. The explosion threw him high into the air, with nothing to grab to break his fall. Half-stunned, he began the long fall to the Senate floor.
~ Revenge of the Sith: Junior Novelization
In summary: yes, very much a mess.
These contradictions, however, exist only out-of-universe. In-universe, they do not exist -- a decent illustration would be Darth Maul's body markings in Star Wars: The Clone Wars versus Star Wars Rebels:
"Canon" continuity writers who state that Master Yoda and Count Dooku were equals, if given the chance, are not going to go and write that Yoda stalemates or outmatches Emperor Palpatine. They would believe that Darth Sidious actually overwhelmed Yoda, as we can observe in the following sources -- StarWars.com biography galleries and film guides, Ultimate Star Wars, Star Wars: Character Encyclopedia:
And vice versa: writers who believe Grandmaster Yoda and Darth Sidious are equal, won't go and write that Yoda was equal to Count Dooku, if given the opportunity to cover both battles. This particular issue of the relaunched Official Star Wars Fact Files, for example:
Some would contend that Count Dooku and Master Yoda are equals, both somewhat weaker than Emperor Palpatine; some would contend that Master Yoda and Emperor Palpatine are equals, both somewhat stronger than Count Dooku; some would contend that Master Yoda is far stronger than Count Dooku, and only somewhat stronger than Emperor Palpatine; others still would contend that Emperor Palpatine is far stronger than Count Dooku, and only somewhat stronger than Master Yoda. Etc.
For instance: The Official Star Wars Fact Files Relaunched #21, describing the Geonosis duel as an overall inconclusive engagement, but one wherein Master Yoda was starting to gain the advantage. It goes on to describe the Coruscant duel as even more challenging, with the two combatants being evenly matched. Simultaneously, Yoda's connection to the Force is called "incomparable", and being considered the greatest Jedi duelist is also mentioned:
More often than not, Count Dooku is a good fight for the best, but is definitely going down. Yoda and Darth Sidious tend to be depicted as relative equals.
Another question: do you think in universe, Dooku or Yoda's power changed between AOTC and ROTS? I could see Sidious potentially growing more powerful as the dark side became stronger throughout the war, but I don't know if Yoda or Dooku's power changed.
With the older characters, growth is rarely mentioned, if at all -- largely because story-wise, there's little need for it. Anything with Yoda or Palpatine during the prequel era would have to be speculative, ultimately baseless. Even across trilogies or shows, growth is generally not at all stated or implied -- enthusiastic fans will conjure it up to justify complex scaling chains.
Count Dooku in canon continuity is said to have improved a bit in one source, to the point where Darth Sidious becomes wary of the older man's dangerous strength -- the source implies at the same time that Sidious himself is not growing, else Tyranus' growth would not matter:
~ The Official Star Wars Fact Files Relaunched, #78
That's the only one at the present, as far as I'm aware, concerning any of the three.
If Anakin's head is in the game, the team mid-diffs. A weakened Yoda fought more or less evenly with a stronger version of Sidious than this one, putting him against two Yoda-tier fighters at once is spite.
Team. Dooku was confident that AOTC Obi-Wan would be enough to help him beat Palpatine, and Anakins growth should have been above that of Palps during that time period.
Anakin alone "nearly rivalled" already Sidious in power, per the latter's own admission. Add to that Dooku who's power growth throughout the war made Sidious wary.
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