How do you like your villains?

[Agrippa]

In role playing fiction there are all different sorts of villains. From brutal warlords to dark sorcerers, bandit kings, mad preists, diabolical masterminds, serial killers, emperors and combinations of these types. From the most depraved to the nearly heroic villains also range in terms of moral standards and lack thereof. Some are willing to do anything to win, while other villains have certain lines they won't cross even at their most desperate. That's not even getting into Card-Carrying Villainy vs. Knight Templarism. So what sort of villains do you prefer? I'm partial towards both complete monsters (pure evil in effect) and anti-villains (sympathetic villains who range from dark grey to light grey) but tend to find traditional card-carrying villains boring, just to let you know.

[seneschal]

The Gleefully Evil Villain -- no angst here, he's clearly enjoying himself as he twirls his black mustache and ties the heiress to the railroad tracks. And he's never at a loss for a bit of witty repartee.

The Rival/Unreliable Ally -- he's had his run-ins with the PCs but will help them out in a pinch. The problem is, they have to figure out why, what is he going to try to get out of it this time?

[YamItheonly1]

i prefer one of 3 villian types:

Evil Magic-User that is bored with the current world, and wants to have some "fun"
A young and powerful person trying to make the world a better place, by burning/killing all the "evil"
A leader of an army of evil creatures, trying to gain a more land to fight an even larger country or target

[Agrippa]

I'm thinking someone who in spite of their demonstrably evil actions not only feels no guilt, but sees nothing at all morally wrong with his or her actions. On top of it this evil doer is a smug bastard but practically oozing with fatherly charm and warmth. He's also a criminal mastermind who honestly thinks that his actions serve some greater good and therefore views them as moral. Let's call him Anson or Ras.

[Agrippa]

I'm also partial to self-serving amoral scum as villains. Like this Dark Jedi.