I could see Despero mind-controlling a planet if he got the drop on them like Darkseid did. It's a good feat of TP, but aside from the fact that the Daxamites only got power after Darkseid already had them under control, nothing in their power-set inherently protects them from telepathy. Mind-controlling a few billion people is an above top tier TP feat, but it was clear that Darkseid couldn't beat all of them in a straight fight ... In fact, he retreated in the end because he'd lost control of them.
Anyway, you're preaching to the quire by telling me that Darkseid owns Hal. He does. I'm just saying that Hal can pull an occasional upset using his intelligence and versatility, especially given his high end showing and Darkseid's lower ones.