How powerful are Piccolo and Shisami?

[Lord Frieza]

Hopefully we'll get a better fight out of these two in Super the one in the movie was too short. Nether Piccolo or Shisami are scrubs so they deserve a better match.

[supercat]

I've already covered the ample amount of time argument.

Freeza's telekinetic abilities aren't even remotely akin to the magic that Babidi leveraged to subdue superior fighters. Why does Tagoma even have to be stronger than Freeza anyway? Clearly the whole purpose behind him getting killed off like that was to signify that he, along with the rest of the Planet Trade Organization were still mere pawns with trivial power levels in the face of their leader.

Shisami training may lack the evidence to firmly back it up, but at least nothing contradicts it.

He was taken off guard and as scared shitless from Friesza's reputation, hence why he didn't make a move when he could.

There I explained it without contradicting anything except fan speculation.

Why should Tagoma even be stronger than Frieza? When and where has it ever been indicated that he possessed that kind of power? The fact that he was compared to a pair of useless lackeys shortly before meeting his fate at the hands of an untrained Frieza is a strong enough indicator that his power was insignificant. Whether or not he was overwhelmed with fear, he could have easily broken loose from a weaker opponent's attack.

As for Piccolo's strength, I honestly feel that he was only marginally below Cell Jr. during the time the Cell Games took place. Toss in several years of consistent training, and I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up reaching a higher realm of power than Perfect Cell.

[Draconic]

Why should Tagoma even be stronger than Freeza? When and where has it ever been indicated that he possessed that kind of power? The fact that he was compared to a pair of useless lackeys shortly before meeting his fate at the hands of an untrained Freeza is a strong enough indicator that his power was insignificant. Whether or not he was overwhelmed with fear, he could have easily broken loose from a weaker opponent's attack.
.

Because it's been a decade since Frieza died and we know his soldiers got stronger during that time. He was compared to Zarbon and Dodoria in rank. Guldo was weaker than both but was a higher rank than either, being part of the Ginyu Force. He was thrown into space, even Goku could have been killed that way. How do you know how he could have escaped. It was only the second time we saw Frieza do it so we know nothing about it and the first time it was used on Krillin, who, by that time, was stronger than Zarbon and Dodoria.
It makes much more sense for them to be stronger in the first place, than Shisami (a guy who doesn't even get called by name until half an hour into the movie) getting as strong as a Full-Power Super Saiyan (where Piccolo would stand, in the least) in just four months. If he was Zarbon level and he achieved a legendary amount of power in that period, especially since he is not made out to be anything special, it takes a whole lot of bullshit to swallow.
I wouldn't put it past DB to pull that kind of bullshit, but it is rather chosen not to be explained at all. And the explanation that they were already strong grasps less at straws than him being some kind of prodigy. It's still bad writing, don't get me wrong, but it's not AS bad.

[supercat]

Why should Tagoma even be stronger than Freeza? When and where has it ever been indicated that he possessed that kind of power? The fact that he was compared to a pair of useless lackeys shortly before meeting his fate at the hands of an untrained Freeza is a strong enough indicator that his power was insignificant. Whether or not he was overwhelmed with fear, he could have easily broken loose from a weaker opponent's attack.
.

Because it's been a decade since Freeza died and we know his soldiers got stronger during that time. He was compared to Zarbon and Dodoria in rank. Guldo was weaker than both but was a higher rank than either, being part of the Ginyu Force. He was thrown into space, even Goku could have been killed that way. How do you know how he could have escaped. It was only the second time we saw Freeza do it so we know nothing about it and the first time it was used on Krillin, who, by that time, was stronger than Zarbon and Dodoria.
It makes much more sense for them to be stronger in the first place, than Shisami (a guy who doesn't even get called by name until half an hour into the movie) getting as strong as a Full-Power Super Saiyan (where Piccolo would stand, in the least) in just four months. If he was Zarbon level and he achieved a legendary amount of power in that period, especially since he is not made out to be anything special, it takes a whole lot of bullshit to swallow.
I wouldn't put it past DB to pull that kind of bullshit, but it is rather chosen not to be explained at all. And the explanation that they were already strong grasps less at straws than him being some kind of prodigy. It's still bad writing, don't get me wrong, but it's not AS bad.

Whether we resort to the theory that Shisami trained, or we settle on the fact that both he and Tagoma started off with Frieza-stomping power, we're always going to encounter bits and pieces that lack coherence.

Personally, I find a lot less of this in the first theory because other than not visually taking place, nothing really contradicts the fact that the bull-looking alien participated in some training alongside his boss.

The second option, however, has a handful of its own hurdles that hinder its validity. First and foremost, it's quite unlikely that Zarbon and Dodoria's names were dropped for the sake of comparing rank, as Sorbet could have simply introduced them as his top soldiers without delving into specific names. Something as straightforward as emphasizing their authoritative rank shouldn't necessitate a comparison; you either sit in a high position of power or you don't. Because power levels on the other hand can be a bit difficult to gauge without comparing two fighters side by side, past references were presumably leveraged as a measuring stick.

Additionally, the whole notion that Tagoma was killed because he was caught off guard, or couldn't resist Frieza's telekinesis requires us as fans to go above and beyond and even out of our way to make the pieces fit together. In any case, falling victim to a sneak attack can only be applicable for so long until it just becomes a redundant excuse to inflate feasibility into a far-fetched theory. Assuming that Shisami was also caught off guard is taking an already unnecessarily convoluted topic and almost forcing it to work in my opinion.

Look, I'm all for in-universe theories, but when that much justification is required to formulate an answer for something as uncomplicated as this, I move on to a far simpler speculation.

At the end of the day, the whole purpose behind the scene was likely to illustrate the concept that even the top fighters of the Planet Trade Organization were still mere insects in the face of their newly revived leader. Seriously, when was the last time a DBZ character was subjected to the misfortune of being killed off by someone far weaker than them?

[dbgtFO]

Sorbet: “He’s a talented warrior, on par with the late lamented Zarbon or Dodoria.”

In the movie Shisami is already there, so the line changes to reflect that. In any case it's not a rank comparison, it's just a strength comparison. Always thought the rank argument just came from peple who didn't want everything to be about strength debates, but it's best to keep bias out of this.

[Lord Beerus]

Sorbet: “He’s a talented warrior, on par with the late lamented Zarbon or Dodoria.”

In the movie Shisami is already there, so the line changes to reflect that. In any case it's not a rank comparison, it's just a strength comparison. Always thought the rank argument just came from peple who didn't want everything to be about strength debates, but it's best to keep bias out of this.

So it's really a case of strength and not rank? Well, that certainly makes the context of the battle between Piccolo and Shisami a whole lot of bullshit.

[DBZGTKOSDH]

Piccolo was weaker than a Cell Jr. at the Cell Games, but he could still put a fight against it. Piccolo seems to have reached his limits after RoSaT, which is why he didn't enter for a second day inside the RoSaT, and why he didn't make any explosive gains after the Cell Games, even though he kept training. In Boo arc, he is weaker than Kaioshin, who is weaker than the Super Saiyans. FnF takes place 5 years after Boo arc, and he still trains according to Toriyama, but he still hasn't surpassed SS Gohan, who has barely trained since the Cell Games.
Shisami was said to be on par with Dodoria & Zarbon. 4 months later, he could fight & give trouble to Piccolo, and Gohan was forced to become a Super Saiyan in order to one-shot him.

Piccolo doesn't really look tired before his fight with Shisami, and neither does Gohan, so the only logical explanation is the assumption that Shisami trained during these 4 months.