[Chris is me]

Heh, all this talk reminds me of a qualification match in Minnesota that was particularly kind to the top 3 scoring teams at the event (according to our scouting data), all being paired with each other... but I digress.

If you're talking solely the robot and not the strategy, you could include a lot of bots over others. 177 over 148, for example; they had practically the same bot but I preferred how 177's drivers played.

Given that they have awesome, smart drivers, 111 and 217 are pretty special. But a lot of robots that could have opted for HP loading that didn't (2970) I'd say would be different and worth a second look with a change in drivers.

Another thing to consider is how easy it is to stop a robot or strategy. Part of what makes 217 / 111 so awesome is that they have some neat tricks (mainly 111's epic crab drive and 217's adjustable shooter / corner load) that make stopping them have a net negative benefit. You can get around this with cunning strategy to an extent (what's up 1625), however.

Overall, with "driver / robot" teams factored in, my ideal alliance would probably be 111 / 217 / 1625.