The role of the henchman has always been a vital one in the world of Dragon Ball. It's important for the main villain to have someone powerful to do their bidding. This gives their own power a better perspective and builds anticipation for when the main villain eventually gets involved.
Dragon Ball Z has the longest record of this trend, with each saga containing at least one traditional henchman to give our heroes trouble at the start of the conflict. Let's look at the most noteworthy henchmen in DBZ and decide which of them is the most powerful.
Captain Ginyu Should've Changed Into Someone With Better Judgment
When Frieza began his invasion of Namek, he didn't feel it was necessary to even bring the Ginyu Force, his most elite group of soldiers. Their reputation preceded them, however, as even Vegeta was wracked with fear upon learning of their approach. The leader of the Ginyu Force, Captain Ginyu, is considered by even Frieza to be the second strongest warrior in the universe. His power level of 120,000 dwarfs all other members of the Frieza Force, and even his fellow Ginyu Force teammates.
While Captain Ginyu's full combat ability was never seen, suffice it to say that 120,000 is very high, keeping in mind Vegeta's famous meme concerning Goku's previous power level of 9,000. What makes Captain Ginyu so lethal is his ability to change bodies, which he cleverly used to steal Goku's power and leave him mortally wounded. Unfortunately, he got a little too change-happy and wound up as a Namekian frog, despite once being the terror of the universe, which is why he is in the lower tier of DBZ henchmen.
Android 19 Defeated Goku Without Even Being the Main Villain
These days in Dragon Ball Super, Goku routinely has the place where his tail used to be handed to him by each arc's villain, but DBZ's Android 19 beat Goku before it was cool. Dr. Gero's right-hand robo-man, Android 19 was giving Goku trouble even before the hero became symptomatic of his heart virus. Part of being a great fighter is not getting a heart virus in the middle of a fight, so Android 19's victory over the mighty Saiyan needs no asterisk.
Android 19's ability to absorb energy made him a formidable opponent who was unlike anyone the Z Fighters had ever faced to that point. While Vegeta has always been happy to punch someone to death, even he needed a Senzu Bean after disposing of 19. Despite being Dr. Gero's henchman, Android 19 had a much more impressive battle debut than his master, who spent a few minutes getting toyed with by Piccolo before fleeing for his life.
Dabura Is the Demon King of Humiliating Gohan
In terms of raw power, there's no question that Dabura is the most powerful henchman in all of Dragon Ball Z. The King of the Demon Realm, Dabura was the strongest being in his dimension when Babidi used magic to subjugate him. With power noted by Goku and Vegeta to be equal to Perfect Cell's, Dabura easily fended off a (rusty) Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. He even refers to the Half-Saiyan as trash he could defeat any time, only ending their battle to encourage Babidi to possess Vegeta.
Dabura's trademark (and gross) ability is to turn anyone to stone by spitting on them. After executing Kibito, he turns Piccolo and Krillin to stone, something that could not be undone unless Dabura was killed. Interestingly, the Z Fighters never managed to defeat Dabura, though he was eventually killed by a newly awakened Majin Buu. Dabura's brief time in Dragon Ball Z was impactful, as he was powerful and unique enough that he's a rare example of a henchman who would have been much more compelling as a primary villain.
