So guys i was wondering who you think is the better predator don't go by they're attributes like the unarmed thing khajiits have im talking about as a beast race as a animal. for example say there is five imperial guards walking down by a river and also the area has rocky hills and lots of flora and tall grass (this is for the setting so the khajiit and argonian have both habitats mixed togeather) what would the khajjit do to take them all out? what would the argonian do to take them all out? here is my thoughts, i think the argonian is a better predator because firstly the imperials couldnt conqour black marsh because the diseases that flooded the place and also because the argonians were to hard to kill because they were being hunted by the argonians say form example a imperial goes near the river and gets pulled in by the argonian he gets killed and the other imperials cant find him because hes in the water and on land they can hide very quietly in the tall grass pretty much like a khajiit and kill just as same. So tell me what your thoughts on this is? oh and by the way this is my first disscusuion so feel free to correct me if you want i know im not really good at grammar so sorry.
This depends entirely on how you look at it, and where the Khajiit/Argonian actually is.
If it is on land, in any setting aside from a forest, I would give this to Khajiit, as they have proven their battle prowess on land.
If this is in a forest, or swamp, or water, then Argonians get this hands down. They are proven to be better skirmishers, better guerrilla fighters, and better suited for these environments than 99% of the Tamrielic races.
This is a description of fight against Bosmer, who used the trees as vantage points for their archers. The narrow ground level of the forest where melee Argonian fighters will stay, is another thing. They can use their natural camouflage and agility to lay ambushes to the enemies, and those will never see them coming. That is to say Khajiit can use this tactics too (although to a less extent IMO). Khajiit, however, will dominate in desert environments IMO with only Redguards as possible rivals.
I would not dismiss so easily any advantage in height. For example, khajiit in trees could easily by-pass any ground ambushes, and set their own. But ultimately, I would call 'forest' a draw - with advantage for either depending on the type of forest, and troops and tactics involved.
Elsweyr is a desert, except when it is not. (a large expanse is forest).
But they aren't better in forests. Most of Elswyr is desert, most of Black Marsh is forest.
It would likely be a draw (as Rune said below), but that's only if the Khajiit are capable of counter-ambushing the Argonians.
If the fight was in Black Marsh then the Argonians will win due to support from the Hist. The Hist would tell the Argonians of any threat, as they always have.
This post also has some interesting discussion on the topic.
There are also many types of saxhleel.
The Argonians themselves are very diverse, evolving by their own co-dependent relationship with the Hist to best suit their environment.
When I look at an argument along the lines of "Who is better" I first try to apply a scientific approach to the question. The one thing I've always pondered is, the the Khajiit and Argonian have been sentient for so long, how come their more primitive aspects have not yet become vestigial.
Humans used to have robust jaws and longer canines, back before we mastered fire and were able to remove rocks and other impurities from our grains. Over the centuries this has caused us to change, this same change should be present in TES.
At this point, the argonians and khajiits should look more "civilized". I think neither is an apex predator anymore, throw a man or mer in the jungle as long as any of them and I feel that person would develop into just as deadly a predator.
Conclusion: Neither due to social "softening".
Hi Matt. The point of my post was not so much on who is the better predator. I wanted to stress how the argonian and khajiit are not showing proper signs of evolution. They have been sentient so long they should be losing their more robust features. If you eat cooked meat, eat bread and use flour devoid of sand or rock (because you have the skill to distill it better) you lose unneeded features.