What unit from the Roman Army consisting of centuries enjoyed more prestige than the Roman navy?
Roman navy The Roman navy (Latin: "Classis" , lit. "fleet") comprised the naval forces of the Ancient Roman state. The navy was instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans remained a primarily land-based people and relied partially on their more nautically inclined subjects, such as the Greeks and the Egyptians, to build their ships. Because of that, the navy was never completely embraced by the Roman state, and deemed somewhat "un-Roman".
Palatini (Roman military) The palatini (Latin for "palace troops") were elite units of the Late Roman army mostly attached to the "comitatus praesentales", or imperial escort armies. In the elaborate hierarchy of troop-grades, the "palatini" ranked below the "scholares" (members of the elite cavalry regiments called the "scholae"), but above the "comitatenses" (regiments of the regional "comitatus") and the "limitanei" (border troops).