Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-16060423-20130930190945/@comment-24261859-20140117023749

The Orcs are physically the strongest, on average. You might find an exceptionally strong Breton or a weak orc, but by and large the Orcs are the strongest. Does that translate to the best fighters? Not necessarily. Assuming that they are equally trained as their opponent, they'd win in a brawl every time and make excellent shock troops if you want to smash the enemy in a direct confrontation. But, as Fronzehero said, there are many different possible situations. In a guerilla situation I would favor the Khajit (the Ahzirr Traajijazeri portrays them as experts at hit-and-run guerilla combat, and their reputation supports this.). Also, since they almost universally do not use magic, an army of competent mages like the Aldmeri Dominion wields could potentially defeat a notable army of orcs. Furthermore, there are other factors in play--the competence of the commander (a clever general could take advantge of the orcs' general slow movement and short range while avoiding their strengths, like close-range combat and wars of attrition, where their hardiness gives them an advantage), the terrain of the battlefield (an orcish attack on, say, Black Marsh or Valenwood would be unlikely to succeed, for instance) and equipment.