I think Admirals > Yonkos due to competence. If Kaido and Big Mom werent so arrogant and overconfident....they wouldve won their fights against the SN trio.
You forget how Oda nerfed Whitebeard?
Forget Shanks has no interest in picking fights?
If Oda has to go out of his way to make a character less competent, what does that tell you about their strength relative to those who are allowed to be competent?