@Commander

If they have the right perks, sure. Just because they have a hammer doesn't mean that suddenly Malakaus is defenseless. Magic on the other hand has a 70% chance of succeeding; his Atronach Birthstone protects him 30% of the time, but also makes him unable to regenerate magic, thus making him a bad mage unless he chugs mana potions, which he isn't keen on doing.

@Ryonara

Maybe. I don't quite remember what you wrote up, but even so if they never interacted personally once I doubt they'd know each other at a glance.