Yes, but Jordan have a Toyota engine which is the most powerful of them all. But, yes, you're right they are quite even now - but only becaue Jordan are, in essence, starting from scratch.
Regardless though, you cannot judge Minardi on reliability since it is not compromised with serious speed, but I must say, Minardi seem quicker this year and the new aero package looks quite handy (as well as the new Cosworth engine).
Again, I agree with your statement that certain drivers aren't built for F1 and that driver skill isnt negated by their success in F1. All the drivers on the field are exceptional, and I'm sure that given the right racecraft they could all be brilliant. Tora Takagi, for example, was blindingly quick with Tyrell in '98, but he was always crashing - he crashed into the pitwall once. Furthermore, a lot of drivers that are suited for F1 have been screwed by the politics in certain teams. Heinz-Harald Frentzen is the perfect example. Came to F1 with Sauber - with a reputation of being quicker than Schumacher (which he was). But when he went to a championship winning team (Williams) he got slaughtered over by Patrick Head, Frank Williams and the English media because he took Damon Hill's spot - did shit, went to Jordan and was awesome. Which comes back to the initial comments on how the marginal teams have this ability of harbouring tremendous talent.