How Powerful is Count Dooku? AOTC Novel Edition
Some think Dooku is trash. Some think he's a god. The truth is that Dooku varies by source, and I won't begrudge people who favor certain quotes from certain sources over others. But I do think that there's a trend of Dooku standing very strongly next to Yoda in the what people would generally call the highest quality sources, and I think some people care about that. So I plan to eventually go over them all at some point, but for now lets start things off with Salvatore's AOTC Novelization.
To set the stage for their eventual fight, here is how Dooku is described in the earlier chapters:
>Mace dismissed his forthcoming reflexive response, a further defense of his old friend Dooku. Count Dooku had been among the most accomplished of the Jedi Masters, respected among the Council, a student of the older and, some would say, more profound Jedi philosophies and styles, including an arcane lightsaber fighting style that was more front and back, thrust and riposte, than the typical circular movements currently employed by most of the Jedi. What a blow it had been to the Jedi Order, and to Mace Windu, when Dooku had walked away from them
- Chapter 5
>“Yes, yes I did,” Obi-Wan finally managed to respond, realizing that Jocasta Nu was staring at him inquisitively, awaiting an answer. The old woman smiled and walked past him to regard the bust of Count Dooku. “He has a powerful face, doesn’t he?” she commented, her quiet tone taking the tension out of the meeting. “He was one of the most brilliant Jedi I have had the privilege of knowing.” “I never understood why he quit,” Obi-Wan said, following Jocasta Nu’s look to the bust. “Only twenty Jedi have ever left the Order.” “The Lost Twenty,” Jocasta Nu said with a profound sigh. “And Count Dooku was the most recent and the most painful. No one likes to talk about it. His leaving was a great loss to the Order...“ Oh, yes, they were alike in many ways. Very individual thinkers. Idealists.” She stared at the bust intently, and it seemed to Obi-Wan as if she had suddenly gone far, far away. “He was always striving to become a more powerful Jedi. He wanted to be the best. With a lightsaber, in the old style of fencing, he had no match. His knowledge of the Force was … unique. In the end, I think he left because he lost faith in the Republic. He believed that politics were corrupt …”
- Chapter 13
What we have so far:
- Dooku had been among the most accomplished of the Jedi Masters
- Dooku was a student of older and perhaps more profound Jedi philosophies
- Dooku uses an arcane lightsaber style that uses more front and back movement, thrusting an riposting, in comparison to the styles employed by most of the current Jedi Order, which employs more circular movements
- Dooku was one of the most brilliant Jedi that Jocasta Nu has ever known
- Dooku had no match with a lightsaber, in the old style of fencing
The last point is important, and not super clear. Does Jocasta mean that Dooku was unmatched in saber combat generally, with his style of fencing being the means with which he was unmatched? Or does she mean that he was unmatched specifically in his style of fencing, allowing for others to be superior duelists via their own forms? I think the most natural reading is the former; this style is "old" and "arcane", and "most" of the other Jedi use forms that involve more circular movements. Essentially, virtually no one other than Dooku was a practitioner of this form, and you would not expect Jocasta to be so awe-struck by Dooku's abilities if he was the best in a skill no one else practices. The better fit, given her awe and respect, is that she believes Dooku was supreme at saber combat and his fencing style was how he achieved his supremacy. Now, that doesn't necessarily make her correct, but this is what she thinks. But for a Jedi Master as old and knowledgeable as her, given her stature as Keeper of the Jedi Archives, it certainly carries weight.
Keep point 3 in mind for later.
The next notable part that follows would be Dooku’s duels with Kenobi and Anakin. Try and pay attention to how Dooku is fighting them
>“As you can see, my Jedi powers are far beyond yours,” Dooku said with complete confidence and calm.
“I don’t think so,” Obi-Wan countered, moving toward him in a more measured and defensive manner, his borrowed blue lightsaber held across his body diagonally, up over one shoulder.
Dooku smiled and ignited a red-glowing blade.
Obi-Wan stepped slowly at first, then came on in a sudden rush, his blue blade coming in hard, right to left. But with only a slight movement, the red blade stabbed under the blue, then lifted up, and Obi-Wan’s blade went flying harmlessly high of the mark. With a slight reversal of his wrist, Dooku stabbed straight ahead, and Obi- Wan had to throw himself backward. He brought his lightsaber across as he did, trying to parry, but Dooku had already retracted his blade by then and had settled back into perfect defensive posture.
Against that posture, Obi-Wan’s sudden flurry of attacks seemed exaggerated and inefficient, for Dooku defeated each, one after another, with a slight parry or dodge, seeming barely to move. For while Obi-Wan and most of the Jedi were sword fighters, Count Dooku was a fencer, following an older fighting style, one more effective against weapons like lightsabers than against projectile weapons like blasters. The Jedi on the whole had abandoned that old fighting style, considering it almost irrelevant against the enemies of the present galaxy, but Dooku had always held stubbornly to it, considering it among the highest of fighting disciplines. Now, as the battle played out between the Count and Obi-Wan, the older way showed its brilliance. Obi-Wan leapt and spun, slashing side to side, chopping and thrusting, but all of Dooku’s movements seemed far more efficient. He followed a single line, front and back, his feet shifting to keep him constantly in perfect balance as he retreated and came on suddenly with devastating thrusts that had Obi-Wan stumbling backward. “Master Kenobi, you disappoint me,” the Count taunted. “Yoda holds you in such high esteem.”
His words spurred Obi-Wan forward with another series of slashes and chops, but Dooku’s red blade angled left and then right, then up just enough to send Obi-Wan’s descending blade slipping off to the side. Obi-Wan had to retreat soon after, gasping for breath.
“Come, come, Master Kenobi,” Dooku said, his lips curled in a wicked smile. “Put me out of my misery.”
Obi-Wan steadied himself and shifted his lightsaber from hand to hand, getting a better grip on it. Then he exploded into motion, coming on again fiercely, his blue lightsaber flashing all about. He kept a better measure of his cuts this time, though, reversing his angle often, turning a wide slash into a sudden thrust, and he soon had Dooku backing, the red blade working furiously to keep Obi-Wan at bay.
Obi-Wan pressed forward more forcefully, but Dooku continued to fend off the strikes, and then his momentum played out. He was too far forward, while Dooku remained in perfect balance, ready for a counterstrike.
And then it was Dooku suddenly pressing the attack, his red blade stabbing and retracting so quickly that most of Obi-Wan’s cutting parries hit nothing but air. Obi-Wan had to jump back, and then back again, and again, as those thrusts moved ever closer to hitting home.
Dooku stepped forward suddenly, stabbing low for Obi-Wan’s thigh. Down went the blue blade to intercept, but to Obi-Wan’s horror, Dooku retracted his weapon and thrust it right back out, up high and across the other way. Obi-Wan couldn’t get his weapon back to block, nor could he slide back fast enough.
Dooku's red blade stabbed hard into his left shoulder, and as he lurched back, Dooku retracted the blade and stabbed along its original course, digging into Obi-Wan’s right thigh. The Jedi stumbled backward, tripping and crashing hard against the wall, but even as he fell, Dooku was there, his red blade rolling over and inside Obi-Wan’s blade, and with a sudden jerk, he sent Obi-Wan’s lightsaber bouncing across the floor.
“And so it ends,” Dooku said to the helpless Obi-Wan. With a shrug, the elegant Count lifted his red blade up high, then brought it down hard at Obi-Wan’s head.
What we are seeing is Mace Windu’s comment on how Dooku’s fencing style works play out in real time. He is allowing Kenobi to take the initiative and attack him. Kenobi is leaping and spinning, slashing and chopping, “coming in hard” and “exploding into motion”. And all for naught. Dooku is parrying Kenobi’s strikes with “slight movement[s]”, “a slight parry or dodge” and is “barely seeming to move”. And is all the while mixing in lightning thrusts that disappear as quickly as they appear to break Kenobi’s rhythm.
To sum up plainly, Dooku “followed a single line, front and back, his feet shifting to keep him constantly in perfect balance as he retreated and came on suddenly with devastating thrusts that had Obi-Wan stumbling backward.”
This style of combat is “far more efficient” than Kenobi’s, and the reason is clear. Kenobi, and modern Jedi, are sword fighters using techniques built for an age where saber combat was not expected. Dooku is using a style built specifically for lightsaber combat.
We also see Dooku do more than simply allow Kenobi to go on offense, he is actively baiting Kenobi into doing so, begging Kenobi to “put him out of his misery“ and expressing apparent disappointment in Kenobi’s abilities compared to what he heard from Yoda, a barb meant to anger Kenobi and make him want to prove himself. The effect is evident, Dooku’s comments “spurred Kenobi forward” into renewed and heightened offense.
Eventually, Kenobi becomes a bit smarter and starts waging his offensive assault more carefully, having “a better measure of his cuts”, which ends up forcing Dooku to back up and work “furiously“ to keep him at bay. But Dooku’s core philosophy remains unchanged, deflecting Kenobi’s strikes until Kenobi’s “momentum played out”. This is what Dooku has been aiming for, this is the point of allowing and baiting Kenobi to attack and attack him. Dooku wants Kenobi to tire himself out. He wants this so that when he has positioned himself perfectly to respond to an overextension, he can finally launch his counter offensive to maximum effect, which is what we see happen:
>Obi-Wan pressed forward more forcefully, but Dooku continued to fend off the strikes, and then his momentum played out. He was too far forward, while Dooku remained in perfect balance, ready for a counterstrike.
And then it was Dooku suddenly pressing the attack, his red blade stabbing and retracting so quickly that most of Obi-Wan’s cutting parries hit nothing but air.
He has fought exactly as Windu said he did, in a way that is “more front and back, thrust and riposte, than the typical circular movements currently employed by most of the Jedi.”
The same story plays out in his duel with Anakin:
>“And so it ends,” Dooku said to the helpless Obi-Wan. With a shrug, the elegant Count lifted his red blade up high, then brought it down hard at Obi-Wan’s head.
A green blade cut in under it, stopping it with a shower of sparks.
>The Count reacted immediately, backpedaling and turning to face Anakin. “That’s brave of you, boy, but foolish. I would’ve thought you’d have learned your lesson.”
>“I’m a slow learner,” Anakin replied coolly, and he came on then, so suddenly, so powerfully, his green blade whirling with such speed that he seemed almost encased in green light.
>For the first time, Count Dooku lost his little confident smile. He had to work furiously to keep Anakin’s blade at bay, dodging more than parrying. He tried to step out to the side, but stopped as if he had hit a wall, and his eyes widened a bit when he realized that this young Padawan, in the midst of that assault, had used the Force to block his exit.
>“You have unusual powers, young Padawan,” he sincerely congratulated. His little grin returned, and gradually Dooku put himself back on even footing with Anakin, trading thrust for slash and forcing Anakin to dodge and parry as often as he tried to strike.
>“Unusual,” Dooku said again. “But not enough to save you this time!” He came on hard, thinking to drive Anakin back and off balance as he had driven Obi-Wan back. But Anakin held his ground stubbornly, his green blade flashing left, right, and down so forcefully and precisely that none of Dooku’s attacks got through.
>Off to the side, Obi-Wan understood that it couldn’t hold. Anakin was expending many times the energy of the efficient Dooku, and as soon as he tired . . .
>Obi-Wan knew that he had to do something. He tried to come forward, but winced and fell back, in too much pain. As he collected his thoughts, he reached out with the Force instead, grabbing at his lightsaber and pulling it in to his grasp. “Anakin!” he called, and he tossed the young Padawan the blade. Anakin caught it without ever breaking the flow of his fighting, turning it under and igniting it immediately, putting it into the swirling flow. Obi-Wan watched in admiration as Anakin worked the two blades in perfect harmony, spinning them over and about with blinding speed and precision.
>And he watched with similar feelings the working of Count Dooku’s red lightsaber, flashing ahead and back with equal precision, picking off attack after attack and even countering once or twice to interrupt the flow of Anakin’s barrage.
>Obi-Wan’s heart leapt in hope as Anakin charged forward suddenly, bringing his green blade over his shoulder and across, down at the Count. Obi-Wan understood immediately, even before he noted Anakin’s blue blade coming up and over the other way—the green blade would push the Count’s lightsaber out of the way, clearing the path for the victorious strike!
>But Dooku retracted impossibly fast, and Anakin’s down-cutting green blade hit nothing but air. Dooku stabbed straight ahead, intercepting the blue blade. The Count’s hand worked up inside and over, then back around with a sudden twist, launching the blue lightsaber from Anakin’s grasp. Dooku went on the offensive immediately, driving the surprised and off-balance Anakin back.
>Anakin fought hard to regain his fighting posture, but Dooku was relentless, thrusting repeatedly, keeping the young Padawan stumbling backward. And then he stopped, suddenly, and almost on reflex, Anakin turned back on him, roaring and slashing hard.
>“No! “Obi-Wan cried.
>Dooku stabbed ahead and slashed out suddenly, intercepting not Anakin’s green blade, but the Padawan’s arm, at the elbow. Half of Anakin’s arm flew to the side, his hand still gripping the lightsaber.
>Anakin dropped to the ground, grabbing his severed arm in agony.
>Dooku gave another of his resigned shrugs. “And so it ends,” he said for the second time.
Anakin, in contrast to Kenobi, is able to wage an offensive assault potent enough that Dooku's smile finally disappears, and Dooku is forced to "work furiously" to withstand Anakin's assault. But Dooku's strategy does not change, he is "dodging" and "parrying" and "trading thrust for slash and forcing Anakin to dodge and parry as often as he tried to strike". He eventually tries launching a counter attack of his own "thinking to drive Anakin back and off balance as he had driven Obi-Wan back", but Anakin is resisting successfully. But even here, Dooku's fencing holds the advantage, Anakin is "expending many times the energy of the efficient Dooku", and he's eventually going to fold in the face of imminent exhaustion like Kenobi did. Anakin gains new life when Kenobi gives him a second saber and "worked the two blades in perfect harmony with blinding speed and precision". Again we see the fencer's strategy in action, Dooku is "picking off attack after attack and even countering once or twice to interrupt the flow of Anakin's barrage". Pick off attacks, break the rhythm of your opponent by tossing in attacks of your own, Dooku is clearly playing the long game, trying to outlast Anakin's less efficient offense while also simultaneously trying to unbalance Anakin to create an opening to pounce on like he did Kenobi. And this is what ends up happening after Dooku unexpectedly strips Anakin of one of his sabers. Anakin is "surprised and off balance" and Dooku is not letting his positional advantage slip away, being "relentless, thrusting repeatedly, keeping the young Padawan stumbling backward." Which ultimately ends in his victory when he unexpectedly stops his assault and capitalizes on a reflexive response from Anakin and cuts off his arm.
Most of this probably sounds repetitive at this point, and that's on purpose. I want to make it clear how Dooku is engaging in these fights, and that said "how" is clearly meant to be aligned with how his fencing style is described generally. It's the key to his dueling supremacy per Jocasta and both of his victories against Anakin and Kenobi can be attributed to the superiority of his style's principles in saber combat; allowing and baiting his opponent to waste their energy on offense while he defends with relatively minimal effort, breaking rhythms to create openings he can exploit, and finally launching an opportune counter attack once his opponent has exhausted himself and/or become unbalanced. This is who Dooku is, and its how he wins. Now the Yoda fight.
>“Master Yoda,” Dooku breathed. “Count Dooku,” said Yoda. Dooku’s eyes widened and he stepped back, turning to face Yoda directly. He brought his lightsaber up to his face, shut down the blade, then snapped it to the side in formal salute. “You have interfered with our plans for the last time.” A wave of Dooku’s free hand sent a piece of machinery flying at the diminutive Jedi Master, seeming as if it would surely crush him. But Yoda was ready, waving his own hand, Force-pushing the flying machinery harmlessly aside. Dooku clutched up at the ceiling, breaking free great blocks that tumbled down at Yoda. But small hands waved and the boulders dropped to the sides, bouncing across the floor all about the untouched Master Yoda. Dooku gave a little growl and thrust forth his hand, loosing a line of blue lightning at the diminutive Master. Yoda caught it in his own hand and turned it aside, but far from easily. “Powerful you have become, Dooku,” Yoda admitted, and the Count grinned—but Yoda promptly took that grin away by adding, “The dark side I sense in you.” “I have become more powerful than any Jedi,” Dooku countered. “Even you, my old Master!” More lightning poured forth from Dooku’s hand, but Yoda continued to catch it and turn it, and seemed to become even more settled in his defensive posture. “Much to learn you still have,” Yoda remarked. Dooku disengaged the futile lightning assault. “It is obvious this contest will not be decided by our knowledge of the Force, but by our skills with a lightsaber.”
The force duel is pretty simple, but important. Dooku starts off with small TK attacks that he thinks will kill Yoda, but they don't and he gets progressively angrier until he begins the lightning war. (This probably shows that Yoda before this moment restrained his full potency from the rest of the Order, but meh). The key part comes when its noted that Yoda resists Dooku's lightning, but only "far from easily". I know its a common idea that Yoda easily man handled Dooku's lightning, but not here, in the official Novelization.
After the lightning duel, they engage in sabers, and this is where it gets really interesting. Pay attention to what happens in comparison to the previous two fights:
>Dooku disengaged the futile lightning assault. “It is obvious this contest will not be decided by our knowledge of the Force, but by our skills with a lightsaber.”
>Yoda reverently drew out his lightsaber, its green blade humming to life.
>Dooku gave a crisp salute, igniting his own red blade, but then, formalities over, he leapt at Yoda, a sudden and devastating thrust. But one that never got close to hitting. With hardly a movement, Yoda turned the blade aside.
>Dooku went into a wild flurry then, the likes of which he had not shown against Obi-Wan or Anakin, raining blows at the diminutive Master. But Yoda didn’t even seem to move. He didn’t step back or to the side, yet his subtle dodges and precision parries kept Dooku’s blade slashing and stabbing harmlessly wide.
>It went on and on for many moments, but eventually Dooku’s flurry began to slow, and the Count, recognizing the futility of this attempt to overwhelm, stepped back fast.
>Not fast enough.
>With a sudden burst of sheer power, Master Yoda flew forward, his blade working so mightily that its residual glow outshone even those of both of Anakin’s lightsabers when he was at the peak of his dance. Dooku held strong, though, his red blade parrying brilliantly, each block backed by the power of the Force, or else Yoda’s strikes would have driven right through.
>Just as he was about to launch a counter, though, Yoda was gone, leaping high and turning a somersault to land right behind Dooku, in perfect balance, striking hard.
>Dooku reversed his grip and stabbed out behind him, intercepting the blow. He let go of his weapon altogether, tossing it just a bit, and spun about, catching it before it had even disengaged from Yoda’s blade.
>With a growl of rage, Dooku reached more deeply into the Force, letting it flow through him as if his physical form was a mere conduit for its power. His tempo increased suddenly and dramatically, three steps forward, two back, perfectly balanced all the while. His fighting style was one based on balance, on the back and-forth charges, thrusts and sudden retreats, and now he came at Yoda with a series of cunning stabs, angled left and right.
>Never could he strike low, though, for never did Yoda seem to be on the ground, leaping and spinning, flying all about, parrying each blow and offering cunning counters that had Dooku skipping backward desperately.
>Dooku stabbed up high, turning the angle of his lightsaber in anticipation that Yoda would dodge left. But Yoda, as if in complete anticipation of the movement, veered neither left nor right, but rather, dropped to the ground. The Count had already retracted the missed thrust, and began a second stab, this time down low, but Yoda had anticipated that, too, and went right back up behind the stabbing blade.
>A sudden stab by Yoda had Dooku quick-stepping back even more off-balance, for the first time, and then Yoda flew away, up and back.
>The furious Dooku pursued, thrusting hard for Yoda’s head. And in his rage when his stab missed yet again, he reverted to a slashing attack.
>Yoda’s green blade caught the blow, holding the red lightsaber at bay, locking the two in a contest of strength, physical and of the Force.
>“Fought well, you have, my old Padawan,” Yoda congratulated, and his lightsaber began to move out, just a bit, forcing Dooku back.
>“The battle is far from over!” Dooku stubbornly argued. “This is just the beginning!” Reaching into the Force, he took hold of one of the huge cranes within the hangar and threw it down at Obi-Wan and Anakin.
An inversion of the Kenobi and Anakin fight is happening against Yoda. Now Dooku is going on offense coming out of the gate, he "leapt", LEAPT, at Yoda. The consummate fencer leaping in the air like a madman...and Yoda is now adopting the very strategy Dooku used against Kenobi and Anakin. "With hardly a movement, Yoda turned the blade aside". Yoda "didn’t even seem to move. He didn’t step back or to the side, yet his subtle dodges and precision parries" are defeating Dooku's "wild flurry", his "slashing and stabbing" and his "raining blows". Based on what we saw in the previous fights, what we would expect is Dooku tiring and Yoda capitalizing...and that's exactly what happens. After this barrage goes "on and on for many moments...eventually Dooku’s flurry began to slow" and Dooku finally gives up and tries to step back and recompose himself. But Dooku is "not fast enough" and Yoda responds "with a sudden burst of sheer power" that "outshone even those of both of Anakin’s lightsabers when he was at the peak of his dance". Yoda has executed Dooku's own theory of combat to perfection, and Dooku is caught on the wrong side of it, fighting not like a composed fencer, but like a naïve swordsman ala Kenobi and Anakin. And despite this, "Dooku held strong*, though, his red blade* parrying brilliantly*".* Dooku is caught on the wrong foot in the same way that led to the downfall of Kenobi and Anakin and he is somehow still withstanding Yoda's all out assault utterly.
Dooku ends up trying to respond with counters of his own but Yoda outfoxes him repeatedly. This pisses him off and makes him escalate even further, his "tempo increased suddenly and dramatically, three steps forward, two back, perfectly balanced all the while. His fighting style was one based on balance, on the back and-forth charges, thrusts and sudden retreats, and now he came at Yoda with a series of cunning stabs, angled left and right". At this point it looks like Dooku is back to form, fighting in his usual fencer way, with talk of being balanced and leveraging a central line of forward and backwards, and using his classic thrusts. But there's a problem, Dooku is fighting like a fencer physically, but he's still not fighting like one mentally. The core of his success against Anakin and Kenobi was always letting them come to him, letting them use their less efficient forms that would tire them out and waiting for whatever openings would arise, only engaging in offense of his own after an opportunity presented itself, or in sporadic moments on defense to break their rhythms and possibly create said openings. Here, however, he's trying to force an offensive win before he's set up the groundwork he usually does to make that happen. He should be letting Yoda come to him, letting him go balls to the walls and tiring himself out while Dooku waits for his moment, and he's doesn't. Because of this, the offense fails, Yoda again continues to outfox him, leading to the final saber clash before Dooku escapes.
But this clash contains something important, this is "a contest of strength, physical and of the Force". And in this contest, Yoda's saber "began to move out, just a bit*, forcing Dooku back"*. After all the repeated poor decisions that led to Dooku wasting energy on offenses that weren't ripe and getting caught off balance and being forced to defend himself in very poor circumstances, Dooku is only at a slight disadvantage in a direct measure of their strengths in the force, Yoda can only force his saber back a bit.
This signals strong probability that Dooku stands next to Yoda as a peer, at least in force power. When Dooku forced Kenobi and Anakin to fight sub optimally, we saw them wear themselves out, but we didn't see that here. Dooku has the reserves to almost match Yoda even when fighting sub optimally. And what we saw earlier in the force clash supports this, when Yoda was only able to resist Dooku's lightning with great difficulty.
Regarding the duel itself, the most common impulse is probably to conclude that Yoda showed he can IQ stomp Dooku even if they seem rough peers in power, but I think this view is too simplistic. We see built up across the novel a style of fighting that Dooku is famed for. A style of fighting that according to some Jedi Masters made Dooku unequaled in lightsaber combat. A style of fighting that he used to great effect to dismantle Kenobi and Anakin. And he abandons it against Yoda. Yoda isn't dismantling and making a fool of a Dooku who is sticking to his legendary fencing style and philosophy. Yoda's outsmarting a Dooku who is, of his own free will, choosing to fight like an idiot, for some reason lol.
The reason is obvious. Recall Jocasta's line about Dooku, "He was always striving to become a more powerful Jedi. He wanted to be the best*."*. Dooku is obsessed with becoming the number 1 Jedi ever, and he thinks he's done it before he duels with Yoda, claiming as much to him when he literally says, "“I have become more powerful than any Jedi...Even you, my old Master!"" But he realizes his apparent supremacy over Yoda isn't so clear after all, making him angrier and angrier as the fight progresses. "Dooku gave a little growl" after Yoda refutes his TK. Dooku lets out a "growl of rage" after his attempted counters against Yoda's assault fails. Dooku "went into a wild flurry" after Yoda stonewalls his opening thrust. What seems to be happening is that Dooku was obsessed with surpassing Yoda and finally thought he had clearly done so in AOTC, and as Yoda shatters this idea Dooku had of himself, bro gets in his own head and begins fighting like an idiot. This shows that Yoda has a unique psychological advantage over Dooku and is probably always going to have the edge in a real fight, but it doesn't show what would happen if Yoda tried fighting Dooku when Dooku is fighting like he normally does. Or what would happen if Dooku tried fighting someone else that is roughly Yoda level but lacks that psychological edge.
Essentially, I think Dooku did not fight at all like he should have against Yoda, and still performed very strongly, "parrying brilliantly" Yoda's assault while being on the wrong foot and only being driven back "just a bit" in a direct "contest of strength, physical and of the Force" at the very end of the duel. Yoda parrying the lightning with difficulty certainly helps the case for their general parity. At the very least, If Dooku had fought like he should have, he would have performed much better.
For my next blog, would you guys rather see me talk about how George Lucas sees Dooku and what can be said about their Movie duel, or do another EU entry like Yoda: Dark Rendezvous?