Galadriel aided by Nenya... as powerful as Melian?

[Adanadhel]

It is interesting that when discussing elves, we seem to think that they never grow in power.

What does it mean for Galadriel to be Melian's pupil 7,000 years ago? Can she have learned more? Can she have grown in power? If so, she was probably the most powerful elf lord ever in ME. I'm not sure, but it seems to me that the elves have diminished in all things. In the past there were elves that could give Morgoth himself a good fight! Could Galadriel have done so? Could she do so against Sauron? Or did he grow in power as well. Even if he did, surely he wasn't anywhere near as powerful as Morgoth.

In short, I don't think we can judge an elf's power by who they learned from. And I hope that elves grow in knowledge and power, but perhaps they fade in power as well as in life. I vote for Melian and the Girdle over Galadriel and the ring.