Collocations for powerless - adj.

appear, be, feel, prove, seem
become
remain
leave sb, make sb, render sb
If he took control, they would be rendered virtually powerless.

completely, quite (esp. BrE), totally, utterly
essentially, largely, relatively, virtually

against
They were completely powerless against such a large group.

in the face of
They felt powerless in the face of disaster.

over
People feel powerless over the problem.