The greatest Imperial leader(not including Warlords or breakaway factions).

[Lord Xizer]

This is a poll to find out who you feel is the greatest of all time.
Was it Emperor Palpatine? Who created the Galactic Empire by tearing down a Republic that had stood for 1000 generations, who used maul, duped Tyrannus, turned Vader? Masterminded the extermination(almost) of the Jedi Order, ruled for 24 years(not counting his 13 years as Supreme Chancellor) before dying at Vaders hand at Endor, returned from death itself numerous times and nearly destroyed the Rebellion and later NR 6 years after his first death only to be foiled at the last minute by unexpected treachery at both Byss and later Onderon by Carnor Jax arranging for Palpatine's clones to be destroyed. With little choice to avoid his final death Palpatine attempted to steal the body of Anakin Solo only to have his soul intercepted by Jedi Brand and dragged literally screaming into chaos for the final time.

Was it Madam Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard? A woman who unleashed the Krytos Virus on the fledgling NR at it's time of greatest triumph?(Incidentally I believe the Isard is the biggest team killer of all time, having essentially HANDED the Rebellion legitimacy by giving them Courascant, Borlieas, Thyferra, and other systems through harebrained schemes. Also allowed the NR to obtain 4 ISD Mk IIs and the SSD Lusankya as well as fracturing the Empire into further Warlord factions by losing the symbol of Imperial stability-Imperial Center, but I digress.) Before her death she managed to inflict carnage on mass scales second only to the Emperor, Darth Vader, and Prince Xizor. She nearly rose to power again after Thrawn's death by using Rogue Squadron and Krennal as Puppets to get her back to Lusankya. However she was ultimately thwarted by Iella Wesseri and perished in her old office a blaster bolt melting into her "Iceheart"

Was it Grand Admiral Thrawn? Who returned to rebuild the shattered Imperial Fleet with the katana fleet, rejuvenate the badly depleted Imperial Army and fighter corps via Mount Tantiss cloning center, find numerous devastating uses for the double blind cloaking shield and enhance his troops abilities via the Insane Jedi master Joruus C'baoth to take the fight to the NR and come within a hairsbreadth of total victory were it not for his untimely death via treachery at the hand of Ruhk his trusted Noghri bodyguard. The very rumor of his return 10 years later was enough to shake the NR down to it's core and cause mass panic.

Was it Admiral Nataasi Daala? Whose desire to take the fight to the Rebellion led her into a personal war against the NR with only four ISDs and outdated tactics. Who survived and managed to bring the Empire under one leader once more by murdering all the squabbling Deep Core Warlords who had for years sapped the strength of the Imperial Star Fleet by fighting an unending civil war upon one another. Her assault did massive damage to the NR before sabatoge and bad luck stopped her short of victory once more and she was driven back.

 Was it Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon? The Old man of the Empire, the man who served under all the aforementioned leaders and rose to the position of Supreme Commander of all Imperial Forces. he fought a skillful war against the NR for four years before managing to save the Imperial Remnant by signing a peace treaty with the NR and bringing the war to an end. He later fought against the Yuuzhan Vong alongside his onetime enemies the NR and chased the Vong out of Imperial Space with timely assistance from the Jedi. He was the only Grand Admiral promoted after Palpatine's death.(not counting Legacy series)
   

[Slornie]

Pellaeon, no doubt about it.  He loyally served the Old Republic and Empire for almost 80 years.  While he wasn't as gifted a strategist as Thrawn, he lacked the cruel streak found in Palpatine and Isard.  His influence in the Remnant helped to bring about important changes including discouraging the bias against women and non-humans in the Imperial Navy and society, and resulted in eventual peace with the New Republic.

[DarthAdmiralThrawn]

Thrawn is best by far, in my opinion.

If only he survived until the Vong war, he could have crushed them easily.

[Lord Xizer]

I admit I feel it should be a tie between Thrawn and Pellaeon. Both were extraordinary leaders against long odds. Both were open minded and quick to adapt to unforeseen circumstances as well as having impressive foresight. Both were arguably the only reason the Empire survived at all after the death of the Emperor.

I feel I have to go with Thrawn though, for the following reasons. He mentored Pellaeon and helped encourage him in his ideas and beliefs while challenging him to improve and adapt. Pellaeon was truly a masterful tactician and deserving of the title of Grand Admiral in my opinion. However he loses out to Thrawn due to his indecisiveness for years. He lost his fighting spirit(though who could blame him given the circumstances?) and tended to follow orders rather than go against his superiors for a long time. He saw himself as a steward of the Empire not a leader and so he lost many opportunities to advance and possibly seize initiatives. He needed Daala to reunite the Empire by killing the Warlords, he was more comfortable taking orders than being the one giving them due to his long service under maniacs like Vader who killed for little or no reason their officers on whims, though Thrawn and Daala helped him recover from this and become the leader he could be.
Also in terms of sheer talent, decisiveness, cunning, and charisma I'm afraid Thrawn comes out ahead again. However if ever it could be said that Thrawn had a protoge it would be Pellaeon. He saved the Empire, kicked Vong rear, outlived all his superiors and most of his comrades though he was exposed to the same dangers, and helped change the Empire to something to be proud of rather than the despots tyrannical vision of palpatine. However Pellaeon is one of my all time favorite characters.   

[Corey]

I'm moving this and the other thread to the SW discussion board.

[Zsinj]

I think that Pellaeon was the Best Imperial Leader. He was a brilliant tactician and he has a Ship named after him.

[Znieh]

This is a hard one, though I love Thrawn and he's probably my favorite Star Wars character and Palleon has his own merits as well, I'm personally gonna have to go with Daala. She was the only person who was able to reunify the Empire and have it stay that way after her departure, and she was a woman. She stopped all the warlord BS, stopped the sexism and alien racism, and had enough charisma, leadership, and ruthlessness to have everyone follow her. I love the part where she fires ion cannons at that other Imperial ship and then gives a speech that rouses everyone to follow her. And in her failure at Yavin 4 she showed her ability to accept her failure and know that she had done all she could and the Empire needed to be in the hands of someone who had more tactical and strategic knowledge then her. Though she wasn't as good of a strategist and tactician as Thrawn and Palleon, she had great political skill which was what allowed her to reunify The Empire, Daala would of made a great Moff.

[Kalo]

I've never read a Star Wars book in my life, so I can't comment effectively. Is this sufficient, Xizer?

[Enceladus]

I've never read a Star Wars book in my life.

That makes two of us.

[Corey]

I didn't read the Thrawn trilogy until almost a year after starting this mod.  

Anywho, answer is clearly Pellaeon. He managed to keep the job for like 20 years without making anyone really hate him.

[Lord Xizer]

Interesting opinions all. I would recommend some Star Wars books that are just great reads and enjoyable, the X Wing series, the Thrawn Trilogy and Darksaber are some of the best of the EU in my opinion. While I voted for Thrawn Pellaeon was my favorite EU character ever since I read Heir to the Empire almost 15 years ago, I was always rooting for the Old Man of the Empire.

[Senza]

My opinion is pretty much the same as Xizer's lol, I voted Thrawn because he was a genius, and the best strategist possibly of all time, as well as a master tactician. He was fair, but ruthless, instead of just abusing his power he used it wisely, unlike Vader and especially Palpatine (except, perhaps, in the case of the Noghri).

Pellaeon I like better as a character, because, despite his old age, was not so fixed in the old ways that he could not change. Though he believed strongly in Imperial military traditions, he was not completely inflexible. He was a highly competent tactician, and later became a very skilled tactician, as well as a skilled strategist. While he never achieved Thrawn's level of strategic genius, I feel, had Thrawn survived,  he would have become even more skilled than he already was, and I can see him being  the "field commander", while Thrawn would be the master strategist. I think his old age gave him more experience and made him easier for his men to trust, which may arguably make him a better leader.

[Lord Xizer]

Well said SENZA.

[Senza]

Thank you Xizer, though why was my name capitalized? :p

[tlmiller]

My opinion is pretty much the same as Xizer's lol, I voted Thrawn because he was a genius, and the best strategist possibly of all time, as well as a master tactician. He was fair, but ruthless, instead of just abusing his power he used it wisely, unlike Vader and especially Palpatine (except, perhaps, in the case of the Noghri).

Pellaeon I like better as a character, because, despite his old age, was not so fixed in the old ways that he could not change. Though he believed strongly in Imperial military traditions, he was not completely inflexible. He was a highly competent tactician, and later became a very skilled tactician, as well as a skilled strategist. While he never achieved Thrawn's level of strategic genius, I feel, had Thrawn survived,  he would have become even more skilled than he already was, and I can see him being  the "field commander", while Thrawn would be the master strategist. I think his old age gave him more experience and made him easier for his men to trust, which may arguably make him a better leader.

Pretty much my feelings exactly.  Thrawn was, IMO, the by far best leader, but Pallaeon was the most likeable, while still being a great leader.

[Lord Xizer]

Thank you Xizer, though why was my name capitalized? :p

That's how it appeared on the quotes below wnile I was posting so I put it in all Caps it seems.

[Senza]

That's how it appeared on the quotes below wnile I was posting so I put it in all Caps it seems.

Interesting.... I must research this further! (I won't actually)

[arrum]

I voted for Daala. She was a very powerful and sucessful (if not a bit crazy, which worked well for her). While my favorite is Thrawn, the greatest is for sure Admiral Nataasi Daala. With Pellaeon coming in a close third behind Thrawn.

[Lord Xizer]

Interesting choice. I never thought of Daala as a great tactician or strategist but she did have will and motivation. She also cared for those under her command and did what needed to be done for the Empire to reunify by killing those strutting fools of warlords. She's definitely in my top three Leaders as a support and rallying leader she was inspirational with charisma but certainly not someone I would follow into battle if she planned it. I do admire her for her desire to lead from the front though, she has guts. Pellaeon and Thrawn without hesitation I would follow though Pellaeon was lacking a bit in the charisma and decisiveness he is a very likeable leader who cares greatly for his soldiers and asks no more of them than of himself and he doesn't skulk at the rear. Thrawn, it would have been a true honor, after all he was a combination of some of history's greatest minds(Alexander the Great, Hannibal and Rommel) and the fictional Sherlock Holmes. just to meet someone like that let alone fight under his banner would be an honor without equal for any warrior or soldier. 

[Znieh]

Like I said before Daala should of been a Moff, but to have made the perfect leadership for the Imperial Remnant-

Daala in charge of military policy
Thrawn in charge of all military strategy
Palleon as a Grand Admiral

Compared to real life counterparts Daala would of been FDR, Thrawn George C. Marshall, and Palleon Dwight D. Eisenhower.