James: the better wizard?

[Steve Bates]

No: HPFGUIDX 1450

James was first in his class at Hogwarts, wasn't he?  I know that 
doesn't automatically make him the best wizard, but it is some 
evidence.  And he sounded like such an overachiever at everything 
else, that it makes sense that he was the best wizard as well, 
although "best wizard" is a pretty subjective term.  But I don't 
think a talent for charms is any better than a talent for 
transfiguration in a duel with a big, nasty, evil wizard.  What you 
need is a certain degree of courage and some measure of a daredevil, 
which James definitely had.  Not that Lily was timid or defenseless 
(I imagine her as having just as much a sense of adventure and 
mischief as James) but it just makes sense to me that James would be 
the one to stay and fight--it fits what we know of his personality 
very well.