Bending Battles

There was a discussion my friends were having, which element would be the most powerful bending? So I will cover the basic stuffs

Air Bending - Can always be used, as air will exist anywhere.
Water Bending - Skilled/smart benders can create water. Really skilled benders can blood bend. This is the only element that can take multiple form (ice-water-steam).
Earth Bending - This is the only truly solid element. Skilled benders can 'see' through the vibrations in the ground. Really skilled benders can metal bend.
Fire Bending - The most destructive of all the elements. Much like air fire bending can always be used. Fire bending's special is lighting.

Thinking about everything I must say it all depends on the skill level of the bender.

If we are talking base level bender: Fire is the strongest, as air cannot destroy other elements without some skill/practice.
If we are talking someone who has learned their element: Air is the strongest. A jet of air can shatter ice, and stone, and much like in Fantastic Four air can be used to control fire. It takes being near master level to have blood bending, vibration vision, and as metal bending requires vibration vision, metal bending.
If we are talking master benders: This is the level where things get tricky I have not seen anything that skill/practice can gain a normal bender from the Air nation. Fire gains lighting, but when paired with an equally skilled water bender shooting lighting at them just has them letting the lighting flow through them, and then back out. Metal bending seems pretty powerful, but first the person must find the 'rock' in it, which really just mean that the earth bender has an extra step before metal can be used. I think the ability to force a person to do anything makes you the strongest, in 1v1, but if they have friends, and your friends and the person you are controlling cannot protect you.

All of this to say I cannot say which nation is the strongest. I can say fire would likely win on a base level, one of no skill, in 1v1. Air would have a good chance of winning in a skilled 1v1. In a masters 1v1 a water bender willing to go dark would win.

In truth I think strongest bender is one who fights with friends from all other nations. A 4v4 where one side has a skilled member from each of the nations, versus a group that is not diverse.

All of this logic was based on fair fighting. The Fire Navy never did play fair.