Well my opinion should be of paramount importance to you bc I am in fact highly intelligent. Like off-the-scale. SO SMART.

There are different kinds of intelligence, tho. I couldn’t assign IQ numbers, bc those might fluctuate over time, and are not the only/best way to define the nebulous concept that is “intelligence.” So I can’t say which are the most intelligent, but I can describe their types of intelligence. I’ll do my faves first and the rest under a cut like noone is gonna read all this ffs!

Lestat- His experience as a hunter in life and as a vampire made him flexible, resourceful, and inventive/impulsive. His theatre experience gave him improvisational skills, which are useful in negotiation, courtship, and life-of-the-partyness. So I don’t think I can agree with you that that places him “on the smart side of average,” since I’m not considering his intelligence as a notch on a numerical scale. But I’m glad you still love him, even if you rate his intelligence that way! That’s totes fine.

Louis- His love of books is a love of learning and storytelling, a seeking of deeper meanings, an enjoyment of the imagination, so I would say his intelligence lies in his introspective nature. This helps with diplomacy, trying to talk sense into Lestat and others. He’s empathetic, can read people’s poker faces, and hence is an excellent risk-taker in gambling.

Claudia- A planner, she is the best at the old “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” She can plan moves ahead of time, even better than Louis can. She is emotionally manipulative, able to instigate fights between her parents with very little effort on her part.

Hit the jump for more.

David- As the Head of the Talamasca (I forget his exact title okay this is good enough), he must have risen through the ranks for a reason. His unflappability under pressure, his own Mind Gifts even before his turning, and the wisdom and sense of peace that life experience brings, these are all good reasons. He’s one of the only creatures Lestat really listens to, one of the only ones Lestat actually will modify his behavior around, with just a subtle directive. David has brought many talented people into the Order, and trained them for fieldwork. He’s generous to a fault. 

Armand- Part of why he disliked Claudia could be subconscious, in that he might have seen some of himself in her (and therefore found another reason for competition with her). He has all her skills and more, with his powerful Mind Gift, he can weave fantastic illusions in the minds of others. But it takes alot of energy to do so. He devours knowledge, seeking the keys to satisfaction, chasing a state of peace that he can never seem to maintain for very long by himself.

Daniel- Like Louis, he is a lover of the written word, making him empathetic to others. As an interviewer, he knew how to “ask the right questions” to get his subjects to open up and reveal more than they might have intended. He also has a great level of patience, which is an enormous virtue in arguments; he can generally keep his cool much longer than his opponent, able to focus on the debate and not resort to cheap personal attacks.

Marius- Obviously a skilled artist, and appreciator of art in humankind and in nature, it has led him to attain a state of peace for the most part. Art as a form of self-expression, he can relieve stress and anxiety by painting another mural or perusing a gallery. This peacefulness makes him a trustworthy mentor to many. In later canon this has faltered somewhat, we can see that he’s shaken by things, he is vulnerable, but like a cat, seems to always land on his feet!

Jesse- A lover of studying and a bold explorer, she had long ago cast aside societal ideals of settling down and making babies. She had a thirst for knowledge and adventure and she pursued both. She had balls in a time when women were congratulated for having them ;]

Gabrielle- Also a bold adventurer, someone with a strong sense of ethics, and decisive, able to hear an argument and cut through all the bullshit right to the heart of the matter. 

Nicolas- Mad? Maybe. But also fiercely devoted to the violin. Having that much commitment to the study of an instrument demonstrates a passionate soul. The fact that he was actually talented at it and could “bring the house down” meant that the tireless practicing paid off. He had found the thing that made him happy (as happy as he was capable of being) and found the person he was most happy with (Lestat) and that’s an enormous accomplishment, both are things that some people never achieve in life.

Akasha- Mad? YES. And yet, one could also say she was a hardcore SJW feminist, blind to anything other than the information that would support her own ideas and agenda. At least she did her homework. 

Maharet and Mekare- Were the most powerful witches of their time; they had to memorize spells, incantations, they had to learn diplomacy with spirits. Think of the volumes of material they must have had to keep in mind! After turning, Maharet kept records of their family tree, an enormous task, but it was well worth it in the interest of feeling like she still belonged to something larger than herself, which brought her peace. She helped her family when possible, financially or otherwise. Great empathy there.