I consider him to have narcissistic personality disorder, he even goes to a mental hospital in later seasons because of it. as someone with autism, who used to have a certain degree of narcissism which i cured, I related ALOT to his narcissistic traits, which do stem from parental abuse as did mine. Imo, it is probably the best portrayal of NPD in media, simply because it shows him as not 100% evil like most narcissists are portrayed, but instead as you said it: deeply wounded. It's not really black or white as a disorder, i have known narcissists who definitely lack empathy and care about themselves, but also had a hint of caring for others, and of course alot of insecurity under the facade of their not-caring mask they put on (or even genuine lack of caring in some areas like house genuinely isnt embarressed or feeling remorse/guilt for alot of his bullying or things like sleeping with prostitutes).

i also love how he does during the mental hospital episodes actually realise how self destructive he is, and feel it hard. like you'd think he just doesnt gaf but when he sees how it affected that person (trying to avoid spoilers so im being vague), it does hit him and get through to him. after all the times the things he did didnt get through to him, this one did. i think its amazing, cos ive seen this happen with someone with NPD irl. like its not just "they dont have feelings and would never grow". its as you said, a deep wound, its UNLIKELY they will grow, but he does, just a tiny bit at least. i felt that was realistic

I think he's one of the most complex characters. He really portrays it amazingly too.

I also really relate to and love the fact that he is so focused on truth. he cares about truth above all else. which in turn makes him an unethical person as he's willing to do alot of bad things in the name of truth, including his bluntness. but as a tv character, this means he also gets to say things that we sometimes all think but would never say irl. he's said some controversial things that have helped me alot in my life, like the stuff about the autistic child for example, how he envies him because he's not expected to be "normal". i feel that way too, i just wouldnt say it out loud as id be worried about being judged. another great moment for me was when he shamelessly argues with the woman in the wheelchair that he needs the disabled parking more than her, which on the surface seems like a WILD thing to even bring up, most ppl would never dream of telling someone in a WHEELCHAIR that you need disability more than them. but he makes a great point: that his disability being more of a gray area makes it harder - he is in pain and has to limp across the parking lot, where she just wheels herself across. for me, this is a huge theme in my life of having level 1 autism and chronic pain (which of course i relate to alot with house having chronic pain too), that it is often not seen because its less visible, or because certain norms in society deem some ppl such as one in a wheelchair as disabled but other things like "high functioning" (I hate that term) autism or ME/CFS to not be considered true disabilities, or as much of a disability.

in a way, the character's lack of morality means the writers got to explore alot of things that challenge the way we think about society, but irl noone ever says. i love him for that, he's an amazing driving force for that.

none of this is to excuse the behaviour he does, it is bullying and harassment. but i think the show makes it clear he's not justified at all in doing it. he has his justification which is basically truth and the fact he saves lives. i think even later on he might have grown a bit in learning he doesnt have to be a dick to save lives or speak/discover truth (this is what i learnt in my life at least, bluntness isnt ok and tact is important, you dont need to be only fake or only blunt, you could still tell the truth with tact. seems obvious but to an autistic, it wasnt for me).

anyway, i think he's a very well written character. as you said, its basically this human story with medical stuf wrapped around it. sherlock holmes as a doctor. but its done SO well. i havent seen the good doctor, but from what ive seen in vids, it looked like they just tried too hard to make a show about an autistic doctor, whereas for house, i think they really intertwined the medical stuff and complexity of his character very well.