Deep down admiral fans know they aren’t and can’t beat a single yonko on panel besides big mom which isn’t saying much
There are so many times I look at Benn Beckman, and think, "Can you beat Big Mom?"
And it sounds crazy. But then I see Shanks wreck Kid, and look at Beckman as his number two, and think, "Hmmmmmmmm...."
The Admirals had all the advantage in Marineford and fought like cowards while the Whitebeard Pirates fought with all their might.
The Admirals are strong, but, they tied themselves down to an evil organization worse than any Yonkou crew. The Yonkou chose freedom over subservience, and that's why they will always be a bit stronger.
Kuzan resigns because he has no faith in the Marines, Akainu feels like a puppet, and Kizaru calls himself a corporate slave.
The Yonkou are above them because this is a story about the era of pirates, and the dreams of pirates. The Yonkou kept fighting for their dreams against the entire world, while the Admirals abandoned their ideals to serve people who didn't care about them, the Celestial Dragons.
Who do you respect more? People who are willing to bend the knee to genocidal scum like the Celestial Dragons in order to gain the power to save some people, like the Marines, or Pirates, who are willing to commit crime after crime in order to rebel after the monsters that rule their world? There isn't an easy answer, but, Oda's already chosen his.
This is a series about Pirates, set in an Era of Pirates. Of course the Yonkou are strongest:
Luffy is a Yonkou, and he will be the strongest, most free person in the world. The Pirate King.
I love the Admirals, but, they've already limited themselves, while pirates refuse to. That's why Luffy will be the strongest, because he rejects all of the limits that hold other characters down.
Luffy's still to raw and is getting packed up this arc, though, the Marine fleet is just too strong.