What is the CR for a 2nd level drow fighter? 4?!?

[Jeff Wilder]

Look, the point was a drow vs an equally leveled opponent of the same class, not the drow and his buddy and his pet cockatoo all wearing party hats in the underdark in situation that heavily favors them vs an opponent who is equal level to one of them.

No, the point was a drow compared to an equally leveled character of the same class. You're the one that decided to make the comparison a one-on-one battle between the two. Not only is that not the only comparison possible, it's the one least likely to give an accurate representation of how relatively effective a drow is.

A 2nd-level drow fighter (ECL 4, CR 3) is a different type of character than a 4th-level basic race fighter, just as a 2nd/2nd-level basic race fighter/rogue is a different type of character than a 4th-level basic race fighter. If you put a 4th-level fighter against a 2nd/2nd-level fighter/rogue in a straight up fight, the fighter will mop the floor with the fighter/rogue ... but any conclusion drawn from that that "rogues suck" is just plain silly.

Any meaningful comparison puts the two in a variety of situations: the fighter/rogue, with his evasion, will have a much better chance of surviving a fireball, for instance, and will usually take less damage from a fall, and so on and so on. The drow fighter, similarly, has Spell Resistance, and improved stats, and spell-like abilities, and so on and so on.