Board Thread:Questions and Answers/@comment-6349681-20171110092822/@comment-31808207-20171114054423

Actually, I'd personally argue Mestan was talking about more than raw fighting ability when he made that comments. (Minor spoilers to follow, though I don't consider this conversation anything particularly major in that regard).

Digging out exact quotes, we have:

Mestan: Well, a lot of warriors don't believe me, but I have an eye for potential.

Mestan: That is, I only need to see someone fight for a little while, and I can tell you whether they'll be worth anything as a warrior.

Mestan: A lot of people will never be anything more than grunt soldiers, while others, working not that much harder, will become elites.

Mestan: The group you've gathered is filled with talent. Everyone is exceptional.

Mestan: Except you.

Simon: ...

Mestan: No, you strike me as one of the most ordinary soldiers I've ever met.

Mestan: I'm willing to bet you've gotten older but not much stronger, constantly seeing young warriors who are better than you.

Simon: You're correct.

Mestan: Not anymore, I'm not. Something happened. You changed.

Simon: The Doom King implanted significant power into me.

Mestan: No, that's not it. Giving power to a grunt doesn't make a good warrior, it makes a grunt with too much power.

Mestan: Somehow, when you were given power, you changed. That's... curious.

I guess, technically speaking, the use of the word warrior supports your interpretation. On the other hand, it reads to me like he's talking about more than raw combat prowess because of the line about "giving a grunt power doesn't make a good warrior." To me, that feels like he's talking in a more general sense--he uses the word warrior because his life is mostly defined in terms of warriors and combat, but I think it's more of a commentary on overall potential to accomplish things and such. Of course, I could be reading too much into it, but.