Duel between lamps

This is exactly how it is!

At every position in the circuit the lamps shine with the same certain brightness, because they do not decrease the current strength after being traversed. Due to the fact that the light bulbs do not use up the current strength, it is equal at every position in case of a series connection. Therefore it does not matter at which position the light bulb is connected. They also shine equally bright, when they are exchanged, because they are traversed by the same strength of current.