I’d add that a common reason to choose not to act against someone is that many of those factors are combined.
I think situations where it’s (e.g.) purely “they have power to hurt you” or “you lack legible evidence” are much rarer than situations where it’s an awkward combination of those with other things, and so it’s hard to even know whether you should take on the project of acting against someone carefully and well.
I’d add that a common reason to choose not to act against someone is that many of those factors are combined.
I think situations where it’s (e.g.) purely “they have power to hurt you” or “you lack legible evidence” are much rarer than situations where it’s an awkward combination of those with other things, and so it’s hard to even know whether you should take on the project of acting against someone carefully and well.