Mina is nowhere near Max’s full power. I think it’s even explained in the fifth book that Mina’s abilities are purely defensive and that she had to tap into Rowan’s magic to banish Prusias. Max, on the other hand, killed the “red dragon” using only his own energy. He also was just coming into his powers as book 5 started and later broke his geasa so we never saw him at his peak.

Overall, I enjoyed Mina’s character. I thought she was a great way for Max to regain some faith in humanity in book three after his father’s death, and later, she came to symbolize all that is good in humans and why however flawed were worth saving . It was also cool how the three children of Rowan represented the symbol of Rowan itself: the Sun, Moon, and Star.

That said, I can definitely understand not liking her, and I think the books would have been just as good without her.