The Blades, at least officially, were created after Numidium was destroyed at the end of the Second Era, in order to collect the pieces back together again and restart it. Of course, the old Akaviri bodyguards
were around, whatever their number, and the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Remanada (insofar as you want to trust it, of course, it's hardly an unbiased source
) says that they intentionally stayed in hiding to keep Cyrodiil from being overrun entirely, until Cuhlecain and then Talos showed up for Renald to support - one person with the right mythic role can achieve quite a lot, after all! Presumably the Blades are doing the same thing right now; when you have to stay in hiding and manipulate matters from the shadows, not knowing just when or where the opportunity to complete your task might come from, too large of numbers can really be more of a hindrance than a help. So Esbern and Delphine, maybe a few others in different parts of Tamriel, but those few
will make sure to continue their legacy for however long it takes.