Pathfinder=Glorified scout?

You're Andromeda's Putin, you call the shots.

Without knowing what Ryder can actually accomplish, it's not really something we can say.

I like to think of them as "Recon Combat Ambassadors"

I like to think of it as a secret codename for Spectre.

I know that they have more power than a typical scout i just don't see why?

The Pathfinder should be an admiral at the head of a fleet of ships. The Pathfinder Fleet. This fleet scouts system after system looking for a new home for the Milky Way races. There should be several of these fleets. This way it makes sense for them to have so much power. He or she also wouldn't be entering the field unless the scouts and recon teams have deemed it safe. Our character should be one of these scouts. The head of the scouting teams with their own elite squad maybe. Someone who wields Pathfinder power by proxy only.

everything you said. Triple it for Shepard.

They can be easily wiped out and don't have any real power to present to potential enemies. A dozen people on a frigate? That's a joke.

They land somewhere, piss off the wrong people, and they're done.

With a fleet at their backs that couldn't happen. I mean they could be killed but the fleet can send more men down to replace them, negate the threat and continue the mission.

Ugh true

Shepard had earned at least some authority prior to the start of the first game.  S/he was a mid-level Alliance officer, and currently the XO of a military warship.  Shepard had superiors assigning some missions, and the entire Alliance fleet (or Cerberus) as backup/sponsor.  Becoming a Spectre also gave Shepard access to additional intel, resources, and authority.

Relative to that, Ryder is a completely untested noob.

But his daddy was the Pathfinder lol!

Space nepotism smh

Maybe, maybe not. Good thing you'll never know.