One of the big weaknesses of Brandon's version of TG was that instead of fully using characters and groups and features already in the story, he went for Hollywoodian spectacular and ultimately utterly impersonal and boring, tedious even... all these blow by blow descriptions of the "the big picture". RJ would have gone for chaos, and staying close to the characters (who can't see the big picture...), including the villains. Like Dumai's Wells, like Malden, like Cairhien... like all his battles etc. The big OP feats were... ridiculous. Undramatic. Like movies that put all the money in the VFX and forget a good script and good acting.

The scene at the manor in KOD, with Rand finally channeling like LTT in combat situation, and the circles of Asha'man/AS rapidly copying him is ample proof that Demandred didn't really need the whole strength of Shara behind him, and would have done much better with a small army with vastly superior training than their foes, and massive, massive armies of Shadowspawn.. He would have wreck plenty of havoc on Egwene's armies and the armies on non-channelers before Mat took over with only the dreadlords from the BT in circles with the turned sisters and the survivors from the Black Ajah. The full contigent of WO, the Windfinders not required for the weather, the surviving Asha'man, the AS would have had a sizeable challenge facing Demandred behind the lines with Taim as his field commander.