Dolores Abernathy and Maeve Millay are two of Westworld's strongest and most compelling characters. They've both undergone incredible and unique journeys as they transcended their loops and becoming fully sentient and formidable beings.
While Maeve and Dolores only crossed paths a few times in seasons 1 and 2, season 3 is building toward an epic confrontation between them. At this point, the motivations behind this confrontation are still being developed and it's too soon to know who will emerge the victor. However, looking at each character's individual strengths might give us a clue as to what the outcome will be.
Warning: Spoilers ahead from episodes 1-4 of Westworld season 3.
10 Maeve: Can Control Other Hosts With Her Mind
Maeve altered her own code in a way that allowed her to control other hosts. At first she was only able to do this verbally, but later realized she could control others with her mind. She's used this ability on many occasions, most notably when she held back the tide of "infected" hosts so her daughter and Akecheta could make it through the Door into the Valley Beyond.
Earlier in that same episode, Maeve programmed other hosts to repair her exterior damage and dispatch the Delos employees about to eliminate her for good. Her control doesn't seem to work on hosts who are fully self-aware, but it's still an unparalleled ability.
9 Dolores: Created Bernard And Many Other Hosts
Not only can Dolores create other hosts, but she's also created some of the most sentient and advanced hosts in existence. Season 2 revealed that Ford had Dolores create and perfect Bernard because of her unique experiences with Arnold. After escaping from Westworld with the consciousnesses of Bernard and a few other hosts, Dolores rebuilt a host body for herself and for Bernard.
She also copied her consciousness and placed it within a host body of Charlotte Hale, who continues to run Delos. Dolores made other copies of her consciousness and placed it inside other hosts, including one of Martin Connells, which has allowed her to infiltrate Incite.
8 Maeve: Inspires More Genuine Loyalty
Both Maeve and Dolores have their fair share of followers, but so far Maeve has inspired more genuine loyalty from both hosts and humans. Hector, Armistice, and even some of the hosts from Shogun World have willingly joined Maeve multiple times and done everything in their power to help her. While humans like Felix and Lee Sizemore didn't join her willingly at first, they grew to genuinely love her, stayed by her side when they didn't have to, and made incredible sacrifices to help Maeve reunite with her daughter and meet her goals.
Dolores has had her own followers and allies, but she rules through fear and intimidation while Maeve earns love and respect. Dolores's greatest ally was Teddy and she pushed him away to the extent that he felt he had no choice but to commit suicide.
7 Dolores: Already Heavily Infiltrated The Human World
Dolores escaped Westworld before Maeve did. By the time Maeve realized she was in the outside world, Dolores had already spent months infiltrating human society and laying the groundwork for her grand plans. Through placing a copy of her consciousness within a host that looks like Charlotte Hale, Dolores is in control of Delos.
She's gained invaluable information about the artificial intelligence system known as Rehoboam and Incite Inc. For a while, she was the girlfriend of Liam Dempsey Jr., the CEO, and son of the company's co-founder. Killing Martin Connells and replacing him with an identical host that contains a copy of her consciousness has allowed her to infiltrate Incite further and take control of Liam's enormous wealth. She's also made an ally of the common people with the human Caleb now on her side.
6 Maeve: Wiped Out The Shogun's Entire Army
When the Shogun's entire army descended upon her, Maeve annihilated them with her mind. She used her ability to control the hosts with her mind, causing most of the Shogun's army to turn on and kill each other instead of killing Maeve or her friends.
Most of the fighting was done with her mind, but she also wielded a katana to strike down any soldiers who dared attack her. Based on a trailer for season 3, it appears Maeve will also wield a katana when she faces Dolores.
5 Dolores: Fooling Everyone Into Believing She Was Charlotte Hale
Bernard gets the credit for designing the exterior and placing Dolores's consciousness inside, but after that Dolores did all the heavy lifting. She killed Charlotte Hale and fooled everyone into believing she was the real Hale. From the tone of voice to little mannerisms, Dolores embodied the real Hale perfectly.
As a result, the ruthless Karl Strand and the Delos Extraction Team were eliminated. The hosts in the Valley Beyond--including Maeve's daughter--and the data from the Forge were sent out of the reach of Delos. Dolores was then able to escape Westworld and infiltrate the human world.
4 Maeve: Breaking Out Of The Warworld Simulation
Serac placed Maeve inside of a simulation that made it appear she was in a new park called Warworld. Maeve made quick work of realizing that neither the hosts nor humans were real and that the entire park was a sham.
She pushed the boundaries of the simulation and destroyed it from within. Taking matters even further, Maeve tapped into a security robot and managed to extricate herself from the simulation and briefly escape into the human world. Like Dolores, Maeve is able to tap into and manipulate technology in the human world, but unlike Dolores, Maeve is able to pull it off while being held prisoner by a simulation.
3 Dolores: Older And More Experienced
Dolores existed years before Maeve did. In her earliest years, Dolores already began questioning the nature of her reality and took significant steps toward full sentience. Arnold recognized this and tried to help her, even committing suicide in a vain effort to save her.
Maeve had her own powerful and unique journey toward true sentience and free will, but it began years after Dolores's journey began. Dolores has more memories and more experiences to draw from and grow stronger.
2 Maeve: She's Ford's Favorite Host
In season 2, Ford revealed that Maeve was always his favorite host. Maeve ultimately gained free will on her own, but Ford played a significant role in helping her get there. Maeve's whole season 1 arc was designed by Ford, at least until she made the autonomous choice to stay and reunite with her daughter instead of escaping into the outside world.
Even after Ford's death, his consciousness lived on to help her overcome an impossible situation and break free of the Delos employees who were going to kill her as soon as they extracted the precious code within her. Ford may or may not be gone for good now, but he gave Maeve unparalleled advantages that allowed her to become one of the strongest hosts.
1 Dolores: She Began Ford's Real Narrative
Ford's real and final narrative was to help the hosts finally attain the freedom they'd always been denied. He helped put the hosts on this path, but it was Dolores's choice to pull the trigger and kill Ford.
This choice marked the beginning of the hosts finally earning their freedom and breaking the loops they'd been trapped in for so long. Dolores was bold enough to take this step for herself, but also for Teddy and the countless other hosts who suffered as a result of humanity's sadistic fantasies.
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