User blog comment:Blackendedsoul/Gap/@comment-5962458-20130417212630/@comment-3425840-20130419092215

While I did imply in the blog that they could be close, I do not actually think that Donquixote Pirates are close to an Yonko crew, the point of the blog was to bring out the topic.

I think Doflamingo individually is quite strong, could be near any Yonko (near not equal) however crew wise the Yonko still holds an edge.

As for allies, well Doflamingo is no slouch, he surely has his broker connections.

So in my opinion, the main difference is crew power, even though their are prominent guys in Donquixote family, they are still inferior to top level Yonko crew members. And of course the Captain strength is a factor no matter how powerful Doflamingo is.