This was also referenced in Skywalker: Family at War:
“Padme’s terrified face as she struggled for breath was now the last memory he had of her. In his anguish and disbelief he broke through his medical restraints, anger fueling his brute strength. Totally out of control, he smashed every glass vessel inside the operating theater, and crushed several droids without laying a gloved hand on them. He tossed Palpatine aside like a ragdoll—an outrage he would pay for dearly in the future.”
Vader definitely has more raw power but Sidious has experience, mastery, hax.
Under normal circumstances I’d probably favor Sidious in a fight but Vader can overpower him if he’s bloodlusted.
And not really, Vader let Sidious down. He had him pinned against the wall until Sidious talked his way down. Then Sidious blasted him with lightning while he was off guard and unarmed.
There's a bit more context/depth to it than that. Vader just found out that Palpatine had lied to him about the circumstances around Padme's death, and as such, he began openly disobeying Palpatine's orders in search of the truth. That's why Palpatine referred to him as "weak", but in actuality, Vader was furious that he had been lied to(and anger gleans power for a Sith.) So the notion that his power had actually been neutered in some way was already a bit dubious, imo. Tbh, I think that Palpatine ultimately wanted an obedient lapdog at his side, and that's not the role Vader was playing at the time... Hence the need for Vader to be 'corrected'.
I do agree that Vader has more raw power at his disposal, given that his potential was never really gimped in canon. However, the Palpatine bloodline also seems to share a similar potential with the Skywalker bloodline in canon... So the fact that Palpatine spent decadeS knowledge-hoarding in order to increase his own power, whilst only sharing a few scraps with Vader to keep him sated and wanting more, also lends to the notion that Palpatine was a good bit beyond him by ESB/RotJ.
Luke said it best: "Talent without training is nothing."
The Kenobi episode should put to rest the idea that Vader (circa Rebels anyway) is anywhere near Palpatine.
Not that the comic where an enraged and restored Vader with the help of a monstrous Lovecraftian entity gets oneshotted by Palpatine didn”t already do that. Palpatine waves his hand and utterly overwhelms Vader”s control of the beast + the beasts own formidable mental defenses. Just stop with the Vader ~ Palpatine stuff.
There are also plenty of showings from “prime” Vader where he doesn”t perform nearly as well as Palpatine would (see: Rebels Vader vs Ahsoka compared to Rebels Palpatine in another dimension vs Ahsoka, Vader vs Kenobi, Vader vs Karbin, Vader vs Eeth Koth etc).
__________________ ”You presume limits to my power. There are none.”