Turntable versus tonearm versus cartridge: which is MOST important?

According to Peter Ledermann of Sound-Smith, the cartridge does more heavy lifting than either tonearm or turntable

Recently I replaced an Infinity Black Widow version 2 Tonearm with a used sme v. Simply to get the table up and rolling, a Pickering XV-15 with a $35 stylus was installed on the SME. After tweaks, removing the brush and adjusting the damper thingy, wow! This cartridge has been on 3 or 4 tables of mine by now. The improvement provided from the tonearm upgrade is staggering. I am in no hurry to replace this cartridge. Which seems odd due to the fact that 2 different Soundsmith cartridges are waiting in the wings. Point being, I was a tonearm denier. Now, a tonearm believer. 

@bobbydd I understand what you are asking. But in making your point you used hyperbole and made the comparison impractical. @miilercarbon addressed this. But for SQ purposes and practical purposes, you are not going to put an expensive cart on a cheap turntable and you are not going to put a cheap cart on an expensive turntable. So the answer is there needs to be a balance. The cart needs to do the turntable justice and vice versa. 

+1 chakster! I do the same with vintage TTs, arms and cartridges! 

So, which would sound better:

1. A state of the art $10K cartridge on a $500 table/arm
   
2. or a good $500 cartridge on a $10K table/arm?
   

I would probably go #2, or a $750-$1250 cartridge on a $5k table/arm.- Noting that the cartridge is somewhat of a consumable item.

So in the obligatory car analogy scenario:

• The cartridge is like the tyres.
  
• The arm like like the alignment and suspension all in one.
  

You want the table to run smoothly, and the arm to track well.After that, then one wants the cartridge to be compliant with the arm.