Take this with a grain of salt as I am an Air Force fighter pilot and I love my branch, but here's what I have seen in my career:

First off, becoming a fighter pilot in any branch is highly competitive and requires a fair amount of luck and timing. You can bet that Navy fighter guys were the top of their pilot training class and absolutely know what they're doing.

Second off, the Air Force also has a "Top Gun" called Fighter Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base that is just as prestigious and competitive as the Navy's Top Gun. Saying that graduates of either one of these programs are the greatest fighter pilots in the world would be true, but limiting it to only the Navy school is incorrect.

Third, while individual pilots are doubtless more proficient at different skills, overall in my experience Navy guys spend so much time concentrating on carrier ops (because they have to, to be fair) that their tactical skills suffer as a result. That doesn't make them bad pilots, but they spend less time practicing BFM, Tactical Intercepts, and close air support than their Air Force counterparts. This has shown up both in one on one engagements that I've had with Navy pilots as well as Large Force Exercises like Red Flag.

Fourth, I haven't flown a ton with Marine pilots, but the few I've interacted with have been super sharp. They also have the craziest callsigns since PC culture hasn't infiltrated the Marine Corp as much as the Air Force and Navy.

Top Gun was still an awesome movie and I loved it! Just want to set the record straight 😉