How to define win?
Michael won his criminal war with Roth, but lost his personal one. One could say that his desire to win the criminal war blinded him to the implications for his soul.
As III made clear, he realized too late that he was doomed to a life of regret.
. Yeah but Roth certainly had a huge impact on that. Because of Roth Mikes two capos are gone along with his brother. Yes he still had Neri but his criminal family is not nearly as strong as it was in the beginning.
Roth was a formidable adversary but let's not overstate the impact he had on Michael.
Was the Family really not as strong as it was in the beginning? Where's the evidence of that? Rocco's death?
We see in GFIII that Michael is richer, more powerful and more "legitimate" than ever. If the Family sustained any damage, it was temporary.
Obviously, Michael suffered great personal blows, but those were mostly self-inflicted.
It was his controlling, unsentimental personality that drove away Kay and Fredo. Roth's role was incidental.
Plus the Rosatos are still on the loose and we are never given an explanation on how that is resolved or if Mike even cares at that point
That's a good observation.
The Rosatos were involved in a public shootout with police. Hard to imagine they are still on the loose.
I always assumed that they were swept up along with Cicci and Frankie but, you're right, that was left unresolved.
