So I bring up a rather interesting question to everyone here, and that is. Who are the best warriors in the galaxy aside from the Jedi and Sith? Emperor Palpatine's Royal Guard? Or the Mandalorians? Here I will try to ascertain the truth of the matter, in which of these groups holds the galaxy's best warriors so lets start off with...

Loyalty

An interesting point here, both are loyal to their clan or the Emperor himself however throughout the history the Mandalorians have shown to not always follow Mandalore as it is noted by Artus AKA: Mandalore the Vindicated" quelled an uprising of other Mandalorians who thought they should follow in the previous footsteps of Preserver instead of being loyal and following the current Mandalore. Also during the New Sith Wars, a group of Mandalorians fought against the Sith after being paid a bunch of credits by a Jedi Master, among also later splintering off into other groups.

Now the Imperial Royal Guard to Emperor Palpatine, they are loyal to him no matter what and are told to never question an order from him, and give their lives in his service. An absolute show of loyalty is that they would turn on one another if commanded to do so, without hesitation. Now while some did defect or plot against the Emperor, it has been noted only two have done so...everyone else after the Emperor's death commited suicide or went with other Warlords serving them....when Palpatine came back they all flocked towards their master to do his bidding.

Edge: Imperial Royal Guard

Training

The Mandalorians were trained well despite the many professions that they had, families the sons and daughters were trained aswell and everyone was on equal footing with one another. However I can't seem to find much info on specifically what Mandalorians were trained in, so that is all I have.

Imperial Guardsmen however were trained exhaustively in many forms of combat, undergoing training with Echani martial arts, vibrosword, and other martial arts and other forms of weaponry. They also were trained to utilized ranged weapons such as heavy blaster pistols/rifles, and sometimes even ARC casters. When wounded, they were so well trained that when injured, they did not ask for mercy, they were also trained in techniques in keeping the Emperor alive until help arrived though this was a lesser known aspect of their training, also being trained to fly their own personalized TIEs. They selected from the elite of the Stormtroopers. Only the best of the best became Royal Guardsmen when their training was complete, and near the end the trainees fought eachother to the death before Palpatine to prove their skill and loyalty.

Edge: Imperial Royal Guard

Equipment

Mandalorians were associated mostly on their armor and lots of different materials made up their armor, ranging from alum and durasteel, to stygian-triprismatic polymer going all the way up to the near indestrutible material known as beskar iron. Armor forged from beskar iron was considered to be the most valuable, and largely the appearance of the armor was up to the Mandalorian themself.

Imperial Royal Guards wore matching scarlet robes, with battle armor underneath and helmets. Although ceremonial it did in no way hamper the fighting ability, the armor boring designs from the Death Watch, Sun Guard and the Senate Guard from the old Galactic Republic. When they were rotated into Imperial service, they discarded their robes and instead wore red Stormtrooper armor to make themselves distance from the rest. Their Royal Guard armor was fully functional in battle, and much stronger then regular Imperial armor.

Edge: Mandalorians

===

Verdict: Imperial Royal Guardsmen win.

Thoughts: I'll be honest, this wasn't really surprising to me who the best warriors in the galaxy were between the Mandalorians and Royal Guardsmen. The training of the Guardsmen is brutal fighting to the death to prove who is really worthy of becoming a Guardsman, and their loyalty to their leader is really something to admire despite Palpatine being evil, also turning on one another if ordered without hesitation. Now the armor, Mandalorians obviously beat them due to the variety of materials that are used so it wasn't really a contest there.

But agree or disagree, am interested in seeing some responses.

Just my opinion:

If I were making short-term investments on warriors I would pick Royal Guardsman for sure. If I were in it for the long haul and wanted to invest long-term, I would go with Mandalorians.

Considering (IIRC) Vader himself hand-picked the best and most highly trained Mandalorians to become the Emperor's Royal Guard, not even a debate IMO.

Well wasn't really here for a debate, mostly just of sharing thoughts(though I could see it turning into a debate..). Also welcome back.

So I bring up a rather interesting question to everyone here, and that is. Who are the best warriors in the galaxy aside from the Jedi and Sith? Emperor Palpatine's Royal Guard? Or the Mandalorians? Here I will try to ascertain the truth of the matter, in which of these groups holds the galaxy's best warriors so lets start off with...

 

Loyalty

 

An interesting point here, both are loyal to their clan or the Emperor himself however throughout the history the Mandalorians have shown to not always follow Mandalore as it is noted by Artus AKA: Mandalore the Vindicated" quelled an uprising of other Mandalorians who thought they should follow in the previous footsteps of Preserver instead of being loyal and following the current Mandalore. Also during the New Sith Wars, a group of Mandalorians fought against the Sith after being paid a bunch of credits by a Jedi Master, among also later splintering off into other groups.

 

Now the Imperial Royal Guard to Emperor Palpatine, they are loyal to him no matter what and are told to never question an order from him, and give their lives in his service. An absolute show of loyalty is that they would turn on one another if commanded to do so, without hesitation. Now while some did defect or plot against the Emperor, it has been noted only two have done so...everyone else after the Emperor's death commited suicide or went with other Warlords serving them....when Palpatine came back they all flocked towards their master to do his bidding.

 

Edge: Imperial Royal Guard

Not to be picky but there are many types of loyalty, Mandaloreans are loyal to their code, their clan, and then to Mandalore, in that order. Disputes between various claimants on the Mandalore title usually come down to interpretation of the code, and their followers are being loyal to their clan, this can be argued as being intensely loyal.

Also loyalty can be a weakness, the Mandaloreans ask questions, the imperial guard do not, so the mandaloreans are constantly looking out for imperial doublecrosses and traitors, much more than the Imperial guard do.

Finally, why are you talking about Palpatine's imperial guard, in this era the Imperial Guard answer to Vitiate, and are far more numerous and active than in Palpatine's era.

Training

 

The Mandalorians were trained well despite the many professions that they had, families the sons and daughters were trained aswell and everyone was on equal footing with one another. However I can't seem to find much info on specifically what Mandalorians were trained in, so that is all I have.

Mandaloreans are trained in multiple martial arts, trained with various hand combat weapons, ie vibroblades, knifes, axes, shivs (improvised weapons). They are given weapons training with blasters, blaster rifles, carbines, heavy rifles, and artillery (both hand and mounted), they are trained in grenades and explosives (to a relatively high level, and they also have explosive experts). They are trained with ground vehicles, air and space craft, specialist vehicles (combat dropships in Kotor2), and presumably water vessels (surface and submarine).

On top of that they are given survivalist training (forest, desert, ice, and specialist environments), stealth training, chemical warfare training (again they also have experts), and medical training. They are also given specialities due to their inclinations and talents, with mundane but essential jobs being assigned less prestige, but they frequently cross train, so the loss of an expert isn't disasterous.

Imperial Guardsmen however were trained exhaustively in many forms of combat, undergoing training with Echani martial arts, vibrosword, and other martial arts and other forms of weaponry. They also were trained to utilized ranged weapons such as heavy blaster pistols/rifles, and sometimes even ARC casters. When wounded, they were so well trained that when injured, they did not ask for mercy, they were also trained in techniques in keeping the Emperor alive until help arrived though this was a lesser known aspect of their training. They selected from the elite of the Stormtroopers. Only the best of the best became Royal Guardsmen when their training was complete, and near the end the trainees fought eachother to the death before Palpatine to prove their skill and loyalty.

 

Edge: Imperial Royal Guard

I have to completely disagree here, Edge:Mandaloreans

Equipment

 

Mandalorians were associated mostly on their armor and lots of different materials made up their armor, ranging from alum and durasteel, to stygian-triprismatic polymer going all the way up to the near indestrutible material known as beskar iron. Armor forged from beskar iron was considered to be the most valuable, and largely the appearance of the armor was up to the Mandalorian themself.

 

Imperial Royal Guards wore matching scarlet robes, with battle armor underneath and helmets. Although ceremonial it did in no way hamper the fighting ability, the armor boring designs from the Death Watch, Sun Guard and the Senate Guard from the old Galactic Republic. When they were rotated into Imperial service, they discarded their robes and instead wore red Stormtrooper armor to make themselves distance from the rest. Their Royal Guard armor was fully functional in battle, and much stronger then regular Imperial armor.

 

Edge: Mandalorians

Actually with a few exceptions I feel this one is a tie. The Imperial guardsmen have invested time and effort into making their armour the best, and have more money to spend than Mandaloreans, but the Mandaloreans being in the brunt of battle discover weaknesses first and are more inventive in their approach to armour, resulting in similar quality, although a few mandalorean leaders have better armour.

===

 

Verdict: Imperial Royal Guardsmen win.

 

Thoughts: I'll be honest, this wasn't really surprising to me who the best warriors in the galaxy were between the Mandalorians and Royal Guardsmen. The training of the Guardsmen is brutal fighting to the death to prove who is really worthy of becoming a Guardsman, and their loyalty to their leader is really something to admire despite Palpatine being evil, also turning on one another if ordered without hesitation. Now the armor, Mandalorians obviously beat them due to the variety of materials that are used so it wasn't really a contest there.

 

But agree or disagree, am interested in seeing some responses.

Not sure how to sum up here, I feel the loyalty and equipment aspects are irrelevant on the whole, but Mandaloreans routinely get better training than the Imperial Guard, and because they relegate inferior fighters to support positions rather than killing them, they have more expertise to draw upon, and they are more creative in their application of training and expertise. But it's close.

Alex I was looking at loyalty just to their leaders, not as a whole and this isn't about TOR...besides Vitiate's Guard doesn't really have any information at all. As for their training I wasn't really including the standard stuff of vehicle or weaponry training(unless specifically stated), as both of them were well trained in such things so it seemed rather moot to point out, for the training I was looking mostly at the self combat and the like. Though thanks for bringing up the info on the Mandos so they seem closer to be even, however I still give the edge to the Guardsmen due to their brutal training(failure meant death) to become a Guardsmen and before that.

I'll clarify though, I was looking at this from a 1 on 1 viewpoint. If 1 Guardsmen and 1 Mando were set in the arena and fought to the death. So I suppose the loyalty, is a little irrelevant as a whole in where I am viewing it, but the training/equipment not so much.

Alex I was looking at loyalty just to their leaders, not as a whole and this isn't about TOR...besides Vitiate's Guard doesn't really have any information at all. As for their training I wasn't really including the standard stuff of vehicle or weaponry training(unless specifically stated), as both of them were well trained in such things so it seemed rather moot to point out, for the training I was looking mostly at the self combat and the like. Though thanks for bringing up the info on the Mandos so they seem closer to be even, however I still give the edge to the Guardsmen due to their brutal training(failure meant death) to become a Guardsmen and before that.

Ok, I mentioned the weapons training because you did in your assessment of the Imperial Guard, the vehicle training I mentioned because I got carried away. I can accept that you are looking at Palpatine's era, and I see why you're looking at loyalty to their leader, I was just putting in some perspective as to why.

I can see were you are coming from with your conclusion, and as we have both said it's a close thing, and while I disagree slightly with the effectiveness of the brutality of the Imperial training (if the loser survives he can continue challenging and thus both improve) I can respect that view.

Ok, I mentioned the weapons training because you did in your assessment of the Imperial Guard, the vehicle training I mentioned because I got carried away. I can accept that you are looking at Palpatine's era, and I see why you're looking at loyalty to their leader, I was just putting in some perspective as to why.

 

I can see were you are coming from with your conclusion, and as we have both said it's a close thing, and while I disagree slightly with the effectiveness of the brutality of the Imperial training (if the loser survives he can continue challenging and thus both improve) I can respect that view.

This is true, they could always improve. However I should have added the keyword "usually" in the death thing, usually their training resulted in death(thus they failed)...so very brutal.

On a more interesting note, one of them did fight Vader to prove themself. Vader of course was holding back, however it was rather interesting to see Vader fight with a vibrosword.

Interesting analysis wolf. Loyalty yes I give the edge entirely imperial guards.

Now far as training well that's subjective. in CQB hand to hand fighting with weapons or fists, hands down to imperial guards. Best fighters with melee weapons outside of sith and jedi.

When it comes to ranged combat and commando style training, hands down go to Mandalorians. They are the best at what they do. Why they are still around.

Equipment. Again it's split. Armor, hands down goes to mandalorians. ontop of besgar'gam, if anybody has ever played Republic Commando, all those features, copied from Mandalorian style armor. Do a search on Boba Fett's armor. Guy had built in Range finder, thermal/day night vision. Embedded comlink with scramblers. Many mandos had fully sealed armor so they can survive in the vacuum of space.

Ranged weapons, well that's equal among both. The guards and the Mandos spared on expense on custom and personalized weapons.

Melee weapons, this one goes to the imperial guards. Mandos come in close, but Imperial guards had the best. Plus if you want to go with TFU, they had the lightsaber pikes. Which even if i had no control of the force, i'd have a saber pike, because most of the weight is in the shaft, the blade is simply that the blade and that weight is negligible.

Recap:

Loyalty: Imperial Guard

Training: hand to hand Guard, Ranged and commando: Mandos

Equipment/tech: Armor: mandos, Ranged weapons: Equal, Hand to hand: Guard.