Okay, I could have sworn someone (Vriska?) said that all the Alternian trolls achieved all the levels. But I can't find any reference to that, only that she did. And apparently Aradia did.
Assuming they *did* gain all the levels, Tavros ought to be the second most powerful, as a Page. But Tavros is only slightly more relevant than Nepeta so far so I guess that'll have to wait. (Yeah I'm bitter, I think both of those characters had more potential both plot and power wise. I particularly hate that Nepeta is just a cute shipper and foil for Equius. The cute thing was a stark contrast to her vicious bloodthirst! Like a cat!).
Anyway, my point is that Eridan is probably the second or third most powerful troll. First off, his blood is above even Gamzee's - and with tealblood Terezi surviving her impalement, it's reasonable to assume that toughness scales with blood quality. Secondly, he wield's Ahab's Crosshairs, one of the uber weapons worth of the bunny. Thirdly, he spent most of the session combating *angels* *alone*. Enemies tough enough to sustain "a minute of sustained fire" from his legendary rifle. That heavily implies actual combat skill. He's probably behind Vriska, and he might be behind Royal Princess Feferi, and *MAYBE* Enraged Gamzee could take him in a single hit. But I think he's more likely the second-best all-around fighter in the group, after Vriska.
It's just that Eridan and Tavros are easy targets for fandom jokes. I hope Bladekindeyewear is right about Tavros coming back in Captain Hook mode to set some things straight.
And in Octopimp's defense (he does really good voices and also):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-d0x5IUgvgEdit: Given how closely matched Vriska and Bec Noir seemed to be, I'm not sure why they weren't able to fight Bec Noir at the Reward. Maybe the Aradiabots were wrong/bound by fate to throw everyone into the teleporter. Maybe the group was too drained by the final boss fight, and later were just overwhelmed with defeatism.