...you have hit on the seminal point, 'Pilly...if threatened, I think deals would be flying faster than a flock of Feluvian FireFoxes, rather than plans for unity, societal success and preservation...
Indeed, T...GPL could buy a lot of influence...but could the many be unified enough, or would the spoils go to the few making deals?...
I judge them to be weak. What if say a Borg cube randomly appeared in Ferengi space? I don't think you could buy off the Collective. Does the Alliance have a unified fleet command and clear hierarchy of command? I would answer no. Even if the Marauder has proven itself a capable warship I don't find it likely that the Ferengi could organize sufficient numbers to have anything resembling a capable interstellar navy.
I remember when TNG was only a couple of years in, "Data Retrieval" technical pages of a Trek magazine I read (whose name escapes me) saying that the Klingons made peace with the Federation in the aftermath of a devastating war they had with the Ferengi. It's kinda ridiculous to imagine it, knowing what the Ferengi became.
I feel like they almost certainly were, but acting as escorts for some of those trading ships that were travelling in and out of the GQ - and we unfortunately didn't even get to see that.
Sisko sent Nog with a formal request for help from the Nagus in Valiant, but he never got home on that occasion. Daft we never saw one in 7 years of DS9 - I guess they never build a CGI model at the time - then one showed up on Voyager in Inside Man.
It's true if a force like the Borg came in Ferenginar would be helpless, but that's an extreme case. Right now the Ferengi are in a position where everybody else in the galaxy has more to gain by dealing with them than they do by conquering them. In the 24th century where it's not that hard to destroy all life in a solar system, that's better defense than a strong military. Remember that the Dominion didn't even attack Ferengi ships in the GQ. If the Dominion had won the war, they would have taken no casualties and probably wouldn't have even had Gem'Hadar stationed on the planet. Suppose you're trying to conquer the galaxy. Why spend the resources to subjugate Ferenginar when they don't pose you a threat, and they're the ones you're buying weapons from?
The Ferengi have shown themselves to be talented in the technical fields, they might stand more of a chance against the Borg than many others. The Borg seem to be more susceptible to trickery and the explotation of knowledge, than simply firepower.
I have no problem with the concept of a powerful Ferengi Alliance, assuming they acted as a cohesive unit. But I cannot understand how they would become cohesive in the first place. We get the impression that they lack a centralized military. We also get the impression that Ferengi are indoctrinated with the belief that greed is essential to success. With such an ideological structure, how could the Alliance not dissolve during a conflict, seeing as many of its citizens would strike deals with a potential aggressor, an aggressor who would happily seek out methods in which to divide the Ferengi? For example, the United States during WWII was a highly capitalistic society, excluding FDR's reforms. Despite being highly capitalistic, Americans were able to come together in combatting a foreign threat. Were they not completely unified, certainly America's great economic power would have never been turned upon the Axis. The Ferengi emphasis on capitalism isn't the problem, but rather the Ferengi emphasis on self advancement, regardless of the cost to others, would naturally prevent unity.
If a threat is severe enough--one that endangers pretty much everything to the Ferengi--they will definitely come together. Anything less than that and the Ferengi will find a way to negotiate to something amicable and profitable. War is good for business, peace is good for business, being unable to do business because your entire civilization has been destroyed is not good for business.
They started off as an undefined threat in EaF then when they finally appeared they were more Keystone Capitalists, beneath the Federations enlightened society using money and seeking personal fortune. The Ferengi Marauder when it fort appeared was formidable- a large weapons pod unfolded from the top and the main hull extended huge claw-like things. The ship was capable of combat, but we never saw it actually in action. I can see each ship more like a corporation- run by a Daimon who does have to answer to the board of Directors (Crew). Each looking out for it's own best interest, but if there is a threat powerful enough they could not negotiate around then the ships would unify along the lines of the Privateers in old days. While they may not be strategic thinkers, in a battle where each ship performs independently, tactically they would be quite effective. True Ferengi power comes from their cultures ability to find out what somebody wants/needs and take advantage of that opportunity by providing it. It is no wonder that civilization had flourished for 5,000 years...