Maul being “nerfed”
Labeled for spoilers just in case
So here’s the thing. I’m seeing comments where Maul has been nerfed in the series. It’s possible to argue that way if plot armor didn’t take precedence due to the original trilogy’s release, it makes sense that Darth Maul should’ve defeated Obi-Wan on Naboo in TPM had the original trilogy been released after the prequels. During the Duel of the Fates Maul didn’t make any attempt to sever or gut Obi-Wan when he was hanging onto his dear life by the abyss. He could’ve force pushed him down the abyss at his jump or cut him. You can argue he was nerfed here but the plot points to his arrogance that he lost to a padawan.
Skipping forward to Maul’s resurrection he completely left a well trained Jedi Master Obi-Wan imbalanced to the point he needed Ventress to save him and later killed Sabine in front of him.
Darth Maul had a disadvantage due to many other circumstances interfering with his ability to kill characters he spared to toy with originally when he defeated them or he wasn’t trying to kill but reason with. For example, if the clones weren’t around to assist Ashoka in the siege of mandalore and Maul was trying to kill her, he would’ve succeeded. His goal wasn’t to kill but recruit her to disrupt Sidious’s plans in the most crucial moment of the war.
Going back to the part of the duel where Maul was battling Sidious, Maul was so focused that the rage through him after losing Savage made Sidious take a step back and took the duel more seriously where he had to use the force to defeat Maul. Maul as a duelist was no joke when focused. Later in the comics after Sidious “spared” Maul for other uses to eliminate Talzin from the picture, Dooku was captured. I didn’t fully read it so I’ll need some help here, but Dooku was one of the most skilled duelists of the order that easily defeats Obi-Wan in every duel. Obi-Wan is a challenge to Maul but absent plot armor and defective legs later in the series, I think Maul is the better fighter.
Jumping to Shadow Lord, I think Vader had a huge advantage having the empire and inquisitors on his side. Having a limp Maul, which Vader exploited in the initiation of the duel settled that. Don’t overlook the part where Maul was heavily drained out after battling the empire with his legs malfunctioning and surviving a delusional state.
I’m not arguing that Maul is better than Vader. I’m arguing the series didn’t put him in the best shoes dueling him to be too excited over this first encounter. I wouldn’t argue he was nerfed but I’m sure a prime Maul would be a better challenge for Vader alone. This show hasn’t been the best example considering Maul wasn’t at his best here. Hope we get to see a rematch where he’s in better shoes and see how he ends up in Malachor.