Thoughts on the scenario after completing "Hammers of Fate".

What should be considered equivalent in this case?

But on the other hand, remember Ornella's first teacher - Giovanni. He was also a higher vampire, but no one controlled him. He made his own decisions. Personally, I think that only Markel possessed such a good ability to control someone with his mind.

Added 6 minutes later
In general, everyone has their own opinion on this issue. Personally, I think that Nicholas, without Markel's control, would definitely be safe and could have helped a lot during the campaign against the Overlord.

Added 51 minutes later
Fayden was a fanatic no less than Alaric and Laslo; he would never have left Nicholas alive (or rather, undead). Just as Alaric and Laslo covered themselves by saying that they were expelling demons from the empire, Fayden constantly covered himself by saying that he was supposedly restoring harmony, and under this pretext, he was ready to kill anyone.

Added 13 minutes later
Personally, I wouldn't regret it at all if Fayden was in Nicholas's place.