I actually enjoyed the few times that the story presented us with the idea that the WoL wasn't the 'strongest out there'.

Best example being our first defeat Vs Zenos - though I didn't particular enjoy how quickly we moved on from said defeat.

I mean, by that point in the game we were already something of a godslayer who'd saved Eorzea several times. And that suddenly disappears when Zenos shows up, kicks our ass almost effortlessly, mocks us and then swans off. Canonically, this is probably the first time the WoL actually loses a one-on-one fight and it should've been a huge deal for them - but it wasn't treated as such (beyond a bit of sulking). And the Scions present at the time, whilst admittedly preoccupied with Y'Waifu and her injuries, didn't question the implications of a single Garlean being able to hand the WoL an instaloss either, and the story seems to approach it all with a "you have to wait until you get strong enough to defeat him" mindset.

Zenos's overwhelming power at that time should have been an excuse to examine the character of the WoL but the writers didn't do so, which is a pity.