Rand -IS- pretty strong.  But Lina seems to be able to level mountains on
a regular basis through raw power(Okay!  I admit that they were small
mountains...), while I get the feeling that Rand & co. would be hard
pressed to do similar feats.  Yes, Lewis Therin the Kinslayer formed
Dragonmount without angreals, but that's because he overloaded himself on
Power, and blew up.  This does not count as a viable battle tactic. 
(C'mon Dark One, gimme a hug! *BOOM*) 

Actually, I can see that happening....
 

As for the Forsaken, they seem to be getting picked off at a constant rate
of one per book, so I can't disagree with your assessment of the final
battle.  

No, not really. In fact, in A Crown of Swords, nobody died (I don't care what
anybody says, Sammael did NOT bite it in Shadar Logoth) and in fact two of
them who were dead got resurrected.

My comment about the usefulness of the Aiel stems from my feeling
that they would be just as useful against the Dark One in a direct
confrontation as Rodimus was against Shabranigdo (i.e not at all).  I
don't see someone as powerful as the Dark One worrying about wheather a
sword is going to hit him, or not.

 
Maybe, maybe not. I think Gourry's Hikari no Ken would work pretty well
against old Shai'tan. It's the Sword of LIGHT after all. 

And finally, Anthony Woo wrote:

 
 >> The answer to this one is simple.  He's _NOT_ going to destroy the Dark
 >> One.  He _CAN'T_.  If Rand _did_ destroy the Dark One that would stop
 >> the Wheel from turning as effectively as the Dark One getting free.
 >> Remember, this is the umpteenth time that Rand has faced the Dark One
 >> because this is the umpteenth time that the Third Age has come around. 
 
Exactly. As a matter of fact, it's been pointed out that the Last Battle can't
really be the last battle; there's always another. you can't keep a good
malevolent force of pure evil down. 

Yeah, but are you sure about that?  I remember that scene when Rand is
given one of the seals, and his madness (or Lewis Therin, take your pick) 
almost causes him to break it.  One gets the feeling that this may not be
just another cycle.

Well, each turning of the Wheel introduces some minor changes, so after say,
twelve or thirtten times you would have something totally different. However,
I don't think they CAN kill him; Lews Therin had the entire might of the Age
of Legends behind him, and all he succeeded in was sealing him up for three or
so millenia. Rand will probably do the same thing, simply wall up the hole in
his prison. 
 

And if I read through the whole series, then find out someone tells Rand
"Oh, looks like you didn't kill him again.  Better luck next time!", I'm
going to be very angry... 

I'm sorta hoping Rand dies in the final confrontation, but that's just me.

-Mercutio
"A plague 'a both your houses!"