https://acoup.blog/2026/02/24/collections-warfare-in-dune-pa... Lays out an interesting take on this: that armies are quite small, even on developed worlds, because the cost of equipping them is enormous — and the technological advantage is absurd enough that you don’t need a large army. When 300 men can hold a planet, why would you need 1000?
So less guys with knives and more WH40k Space Marines. Impossibly expensive elites who cannot be equaled by a mortal.
Still leaves me questioning how anyone could wage war. If the Harkonens could barely afford it, nobody can.
Also wondering if the Guild charges different rates for goods vs military. What is worth the brutal intergalactic shipping prices that you would not develop local industry to create it? Surely nobody is moving grain or ore, yet the Guild ships are portrayed as comically massive.
