he may seem stronger but hes definatly not a greater threat then Orochimaru, for Itachi to survive longer then Orochimaru there would have to be a miracle, Orochimaru has been identified as the 'bad' guy and Itachi is merely the goal. Goals are meant to be reached, he will be defeated a long time before characters like Orochimaru.

Itachi simply killed his clan, i dont know why hes seen as a mysterious character - all we're trying to find out is why he did it.
Kabuto we know nothing about, other then he constantly supresses how strong he really is.
Orochimaru has been identified as the evil, he experiments on living beings from his own village and has no regard for life at all. Whatever plot you can think up for Itachi will not even reach Orochimarus creepy and weirdness, you dont see Itachi with a snake tounge do you?

Kabuto isnt gay, he serves someone who he probably sees as a father, do you have sexual thoughts about your father? Father and son occasionally threaten each other and have fights, but when it comes down to it they still care about each other. I'm guessing Orochimaru took in Kabuto after he was the sole survivor and treated him like his son.

We dont have the authors word for it we have the translators word for it, unless you've talked to him about it. Jiraiya didnt piss his pants when he saw the fire, he was intregied and he sealed it with ease seconds later.
Kakashi was never shaking when he first met Itachi, against Orochimaru he was shitting his pants, so he obviously knows more then we do about what they're both capable of.

my point is, even though Itachi may have been identified as stronger it doesnt mean he'd walk over anyone unless it made sense to the plot. Orochimaru wouldnt lose to Itachi because hes the 'ultimate evil' of Naruto, there is no other source for this great an evil and Itachi cant really replace it.

Itachi is disposable, Orochimaru isnt.
(if you're wondering what this has to do with this chapter, its just adding to my possibility of Kabuto bringing back Itachi's body, it IS a possibility, greater then most. Excuse me for thinking of possible storylines that would add interesting situations)