Weaponless Elite glitch

The Weaponless Elite Glitch is a glitch which can be done on the Halo 2 levels Metropolis and Gravemind and Halo 3 level The Covenant.

Metropolis
Go to the level Metropolis in Halo 2 and board the Scarab. Throw a plasma grenade at the Scarab operator Elite while he is operating the Scarab. He will execute the animation for drawing an Energy Sword but will not actually possess one. Easy is the best difficulty for this.

Gravemind
Get the Catch and Sputnik skulls and go to the level Gravemind. Make sure that the difficulty is on Easy. Go to the first outdoor area past the Hunters where the Honor Guard Elites and the Brutes are fighting. You should take out the sniper Jackals before attempting to perform this glitch. Get the SpecOps Elite toward the right to throw a plasma grenade at you. Either shoot a Brute Shot at the Elite's feet or jump above his head, but just enough so he does not stick you, and cause him to throw the plasma grenade up in the air. If done correctly, the plasma grenade will land on his head and not you, and he will execute the animation for pulling out an Energy Sword, and again will not actually possess one as this Elite is Special Operations and is not scripted to have a secondary weapon. Instead, he will pull out an invisible Energy Sword and will follow you around the Valley of Tears. When you reach the part where the Flood-controlled In Amber Clad comes, he will not follow you across the light bridge but stand there staring at you.

Uprising
Using a Halo 2 modding program such as Gravemind 1.5, if you make it so that Elites cannot die from damage, the dying Elite you encounter when you start the level will be standing, saying what he is scripted to say, and then he will resume the normal stance Halo 2 Elites do when they're holding the Energy Sword except there will be nothing in his hand. When confronted with a Brute enemy, the Elite will charge at him, but will not be able to do any damage.

The Covenant
When the Separatist Phantom arrives to pick up the Arbiter, use an Energy Sword to melee and destroy the Plasma Cannon platform. The Elite operator will not take any damage and when he gets off the turret, he will have no weapon. If you stick him with a plasma grenade, he will take out an Energy Sword and usually die. If the Thunderstorm and Mythic skulls are turned on and you stick him with a plasma grenade, it is very likely that he will survive. If you betray your allies, he will attempt to melee you with his fist and his melee does damage.

Explanation
Because the Elite's grenades are weaker than yours, it will not kill him but will make him execute the animation for drawing an Energy Sword, causing him to become "weaponless".