I prefer a teaching role, so I'd play with someone less talented and teach them all the tricks and tips. Wouldn't matter who was watching or not.

i don't care what skill level someone is when i'm playing against them, but it can't be denied that playing against someone who is way better than you in skill can suck sometimes, if you care about winning. other times, though, the game is fun even if you can't win.
and i can't say i would want anyone watching me play games.

When i play a game i don't really think about how talented the other person might be, I usually do it for fun, so it doesn't really matter to me. I would also not mind who was watching.

I don't really care about when it comes to how talented others are while gaming. if I'm gonna game with a friend, gaming with that friend is all that matters
especially since a lot of my friends don't game

It doesn’t matter to me, I’m just in for the fun honestly lol

i guess someone of my own level. playing with someone more experienced ca be a bummer, and when you're the experienced one it just doesn't feel good to win with someone with less experience

Hm.
I guess we all would prefer someone our level, right?
But if I have to choose I'd say less talented than me. So at least I have something to teach them, and that's something I like.
It would not depend on who is watching, I think that only would matter to me if the other person was more talented than me - I'd feel more pressure.

For me it would be more so, I know I'm not great at games, and be nice to have someone that knows what they are doing around.

More. I don't tend to play games the way originally intended, so it helps if I can give something to the other person in exchange for not following my expected role within the game... if they win, that usually helps them to enjoy it even if I'm doing something odd. If they are less talented than I am and I'm off doing whatever and win on top of it, it tends to be a disappointing experience for them. So it's better if they're talented, because then either they're already bored with the game and don't mind if I skew things, or if they aren't bored with the game then a win will make them happy still, and either way we can both have fun.
My least favorite way to play games is trying to teach someone else, because then I have to play the game the way it was intended until they learn it, and it feels frustrating and almost claustrophobic. It's all about finding the options that weren't obvious, and exploring all the niche interactions possible with the original rule-set, and then finding someone who'll help me experiment with changing the original rule-set.