with Paul alive, obviously he had the boss's ear & a lot of say in that regard, especially after Neil died when he was promoted to underboss

But let's just say without Paul in the picture, ie Paul was whacked & Tommy wasn't present. What kind of power did he yield without Paul around. Did he have a big crew? Seems like he spent most of his time with Paul & only met the capos or soldiers to pass on orders. I know him & his brother were both real tough guys but in the mob that doesn't stand for much when your against numbers , guns & money.

Now in comparison, Gotti without Neil had considerable influence & a big crew. Plus he was able to get other crews & important figures within the family to listen to him.

Edit- another example could be Massino & Vitale, without big Joey, Sal had no real power apart from the title of underboss/ whereas Gas Pipe as Vic's underboss was very powerful in his own right