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Originally Posted by Raynor
To me, the later seems to be case
As you have stated yourself, Glorfindel enhanced status appears after his death, as all reincarnated elves are, IIRC. That passage you quoted is irrelevant for Glorfindel at the time of his battle; the same goes for Echtelion. In a "mirror" argument, if he was greatly enhanced afterwards, his initial power, compared to his new one, is greatly reduced.
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And yet both were capable of defeating (presumably incarnate) Balrogs before their enhancement. Neither of them were typical Elves, both being considered among the mightiest warriors in Gondolin. I'll grant that they can be considered examples of "transcendence" of the limitations of their spiritual station in M-E, but they were by no means normal even prior to their near-apotheosis.
Additionally, Maiar are weaker in an incarnate state than in their natural form. I hinted at this above, but it's worth being specific about. Balrogs that were defeated by Incarnates can be assumed to be incarnated (death being otherwise impossible) and thus weaker than those primeval Spirits of Fire who first joined Melkor.