Place 6: Gimli
If Gimli can do one thing, it is to hit hard. In battle, he is indispensable, and his constant competition with Legolas over who kills more orcs motivates him further. He is a consistently loyal companion but does not stand out with great heroic deeds.
However, when his friends are in trouble, he rushes to their rescue; Merry and Pippin can sing a song about that. Gimli copes well with setbacks like finding the corpses in the Mines of Moria despite his grief. He also shows no victimization by the One Ring. Only in the presence of Galadriel does he falter—and when he has to run for hours chasing after his swift companions Aragorn and Legolas.
Place 5: Frodo
Frodo has a tough time. First, Bilbo disappears, then he has to flee the Shire with the ring, and then he becomes the ring-bearer. Frodo can greatly use the companions around him. Although he does not possess physical strength and hardly proves himself with a sword, he is nonetheless a powerful character.
Just the fact that he manages to not let the ring consume him completely by the end of the story shows his strength. Sure, carrying the ring is a burden and changes him, but Frodo rarely succumbs to its seductive call—unlike, for example, Boromir.
Moreover, Frodo has to endure quite a bit throughout the adventure. He suffers numerous physical pains, getting injured by the Nazgûl or a troll and is “captured” by the spider Shelob.
Place 4: Legolas
If one had to crown the coolest in the group, Legolas would probably be in first place. Few other characters are as mysterious and cool at the same time. Legolas does not speak much but proves his skills with the bow even more in battle. In his competition with Gimli, he surfs down stairs on shields and kills countless opponents.
He is also very fast and agile on the go and does not tire even during long sprints across the landscape. His eyes are sharp and recognize enemies from a distance. In the third part, he single-handedly takes down one of the mighty Oliphaunts, and the diligent elf seems to feel nothing of the power of the ring. By the way, Legolas speaks very little with Frodo throughout the three films.
