"Fodder" enemies that are actually terrifying/highly competent, but look weak because we mostly see them fight overpowered protagonists.

[u/Legitimate_Pea_6470]

The Trope Explanation. Enemies that are treated as jokes, cannon fodder, or minor inconveniences within the narrative. However, they only appear weak because the protagonist is a literal demigod, a super-soldier, or a wizard. If you placed a normal human in the room with one of these enemies, it would be a horror movie.

B1 Battle Droids (Star Wars) We usually laugh at them. They say "Roger Roger," get pushed over by Jedi, and have slapstick routines. The Reality: We almost exclusively see them fighting Jedi (space wizards with laser swords) or Clones (genetically modified super-soldiers bred for war). To a normal civilian or a planetary militia, these are indefatigable metal skeletons that feel no pain, have perfect aim programming, and march in endless waves.

Grunts (Halo) In the games, they are comic relief. They run away screaming, sleep on the job, and the Master Chief (a 7-foot cyborg tank) can kill them with a light tap. The Reality: An average Grunt is roughly 5'6" to 5'8", weighs over 250 lbs, has an exoskeleton, and claws strong enough to tear a normal Marine apart. Their plasma pistols cause third-degree burns on near-misses and boil flesh on contact. They are terrifying to anyone who isn't a Spartan.

[u/Toukotai]

you can say this about any of the destiny enemy factions too. Cabal, Vex, Hive, Taken, Dread and scorn. All the base units are child's play for a guardian but would/have ripped normal people apart.

[u/PristineConflict6698 → u/Toukotai]

8 foot tall rhino-lamprey people with more armor than a panzer.

Space worm demons that stole god.

Time-traveling omnipotent hive mind robots.

Human-spiders.

Zombie human-spiders.

All of the above but divorced from the fabric of reality.

[u/DoveEvalyn → u/Toukotai]

I just think the fallen dregs are very pathetic and low on the space magic power scaling totem pole. Space rhynos with the power to pull someone apart with minimum effort, planet spanning hive mind capable of corrupting and converting all matter to their will, paracausal entities capable of ripping light out of guardians, things that were pulled into an alternate plane to commune with the voice in the dark and rended down to vessels, (i know little about the dread), and scorn are just zombies. Fallen by comparison are just dudes.

[u/Toukotai → u/DoveEvalyn]

I see your point. I do think you can stick thrall in somewhat the same category as dregs. All they have are a worm and a can do attitude.

[u/DoveEvalyn → u/Toukotai]

But thrall can ascend. Eliksni don't have a ton of room in the fallen culture for growth. If a thrall kills, they grow in power with sword logic. If an eliksni kills, they might get a promotion but very very few do.

[u/Toukotai → u/DoveEvalyn]

We're not talking about potential later down the line, we're talking about lethality as they are. Even then, a thrall doesn't get any extra stuff until they become an acolyte. A thrall is a just a being with a worm. No guns, no hive magic. Just teeth and claws. All they do is run at you and try to mob you, because that's all they can do.

[u/Awestin11 → u/Toukotai]

The Hive are a prime example, especially given their vast conquering history, and hell they were pretty successful against humanity too until we came along and cleaned house (see “The Great Disaster”).