Starting from day one, here are the four known "official" Representante of the Profaci/Colombo/Persico Family from their inception to current times.

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/guiseppe-profaci/

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/giuseppe-magliocco/

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/joseph-colombo-sr/

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/carmine-persico/

There have been many other interim bosses and "acting" leaders, but these 4 were the true "Capi Famiglia" of this borgata. In truth Joe Magliocco was never actually ratified by the Commission as an "Official" boss. But I included him because he was pivotal as Profaci's underboss/interim acting #2 for decades from the 1930s forward, and the FBI carried the family as the "Magliocco Family" at one point.

Their rank and file through the decades will follow in the coming days and weeks.

Who was the Best (if any of them could be considered great) boss of the Colombos?

Who was the Most powerful?

And Who was the Worst? (Excluding Magliocco)

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IMO?

Best? Probably Joe Colombo - during his tenure most of his men - the rank and file were very happy and and were earning good money. The thing that ruined him (and the crew) was his stupidity to push the IACRL

Most Powerful?.... definitely Joe Profaci

Worst? Probably Carmine Persico......tough guy, but in many ways he ruined the borgata

Best - Joe Profaci

Worst - Joe Colombo (the attention he brought upon himself makes him easily the worst)

Close 2nd is Carmine Persico whose ego and nepotism destroyed his borgata.

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I think I largely agree with you from the angle you are viewing it from. Your argument does hold water. In truth each of the three helped but also hurt the borgata.

And I think depending upon the specific topic each could rank #1 or #3.

I do think that none of the three could carry the jockstrap of a Frank Costello or Tommy Lucchese. Both of whom I think were among the very best bosses of CN. Their rank and file largely loved them. Each was a fabulous boss.

Were the Colombos at anytime in history when they were comparable to the Genovese or Gambinos in any a aspect of CN?

I’d go with Tom DiBella; He may not have been the official boss of the Colombo’s but he ran the family for Persico for years and he died in his old age.

Guy was mostly legit; and was allowed to retire...

Tom DiBella is my choice. He was a old school guy; and low key.

He was better then Persico; and Colombo. Profaci ran the family for 30 years but he was not a good boss to his men.

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As far as acting bosses, I agree with you on Tommy Di Bella. He was a very old school guy, knowledgable about CN and loyal as a MF'er. For that matter probably the single best acting leader was Vinny Aloi. Almost universally loved by the membership, he was a very capable guy and well respected by ALL the other families. Not greedy, he was a wealthy guy in his own right.

In fact I've been told by several top members of that borgata (old time guys in fact) that he was the "most well versed" guy as far as the "rules" of Cosa Nostra went. He was taught very well by his dad Buster and was long sought after to head that Family. If he had, the Colombo's would have been on a much different trajectory than they ended up on.

There is not alot of info on Tom Di Bella (at least none that I'm aware of.)
He along with Yacovelli and Aloi are often left out of the Colombos general History.

Thats what makes it so interesting and fascinating, all these groups have rich history, that still haven't been 100% uncovered.For me the Colombos is a weak spot for me. I do know the main Characters Profaci, Colombo, Persico, Gallo but those acting bosses and intermediate powers aren't as analyzed. I guess that go with all the Families

According to Scarpa, Tom DiBella was the official boss though Persico was the one who really ran the show. Scarpa has Persico becoming the official underboss when he got out of prison and then finally replacing DiBella as the official boss in 1980

Michael Franzese sure holds Tom Dibella in High regard. If there is more info on him, his time can be analyzed.

In truth Tommy Di Bella was a good guy. Loyal and quiet. A true believer. Remember that Di Bella's dad was an original of this network. Its thought that the father actually headed things before Profaci took over.

By and large Tommy had a "position" on the Brooklyn docks where he held some sway of the Longshoremen's Union. He took an early pinch or two for bootlegging. Thats how far back he went. Lol...He was a very, very low key mafioso, thats why he was placed as a figurehead on top in the first place. He was only a soldier for many decades. In Persico's crew no less. Di Bella was propped up as a chair holder for Junior while Persico finished up his hijacking bit.

Very capable, but he wasn't thrilled to hold the top spot for long. It wasn't really his thing.

I can see that angle between Persico and Di Bella playing out. The Profaci's have always been a "Factioned" Family of sorts. There is so much focus on the later years that, there has been as much put into the formation and early period. Which from my general research, shows the precursors and similarities in turmoil of the first Colombo War. And some of the lesser "name value guys" like Di Bella get lost in the sauce.

Exactly. They had many powerhouse guys who maintained a "soldiers" status yet were more influential than many knew or suspected. But in truth thats the same as any borgata.

The guys with the "big names" are not necessarily the "real" powers of a family. Many times the old-timers or more savvy soldiers prop a guy up as boss when in truth he seeks counsel from those technically below him.