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If my memory serves me correctly, Glorfindel has enough raw power to terrify the Nazgûl, yet he gladly defers to Elrond. The reason is rooted in blood: in his first life, he died to save Elrond's seven-year-old father.

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As a Calaquendë (an Elf of the Light) who perished slaying a Balrog, was resurrected, and returned with power rivaling the Maiar, Glorfindel's personal might far exceeds Elrond's. But in the hierarchy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, martial power does not translate to political authority.

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Tolkien’s elves operate within strict monarchical hierarchies. Elrond is the great-grandson of Turgon, the High King of the Noldor and the original ruler of the hidden city of Gondolin. In the First Age, Glorfindel was the Lord of the House of the Golden Flower in Gondolin and a sworn bannerman to Turgon. When the city fell, Glorfindel sacrificed himself to protect the escaping refugees—including Turgon's young grandson Eärendil, who would grow up to become Elrond's father. Glorfindel’s loyalty to Elrond in the Third Age is a direct continuation of his ancient fealty to that royal bloodline. Furthermore, Elrond was the chosen herald and vice-regent of Gil-galad, the last High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth, making Elrond the de facto inheritor of Noldorin leadership.

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Beyond bloodlines, their respective abilities serve different functions. Elrond wields Vilya, the Ring of Air and the mightiest of the Three Elven Rings. Vilya’s power is not martial; it is the ability to heal, preserve, and ward off the decay of time. Rivendell exists as a timeless, protected sanctuary because of Elrond and Vilya. Glorfindel’s power is personal and combative. He exists in both the Seen and Unseen worlds simultaneously, making his spiritual presence terrifying to the Nazgûl, but he cannot sustain a hidden realm the way a Ring-bearer can.

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Glorfindel also lacks any ambition to rule. When the Valar resurrected him and sent him back across the sea in the Second Age, he returned as an emissary. Much like Gandalf and the other Istari, Glorfindel’s divine mission was to counsel, protect, and assist the free peoples against Sauron. Asserting dominance over Elrond’s established authority would directly violate the supportive purpose for which the Valar sent him back.