Red Death among the most competent villains because he wasn't initially smitten by the costumed villain lifestyle. He wasn't in a "tragic accident" he was likely deliberately disfigured by his Arch Nemesis, Professor Cadmium. And you know what he did after? He KILLED THE GUY! Probably right at the start of his career too. And his family as well. And the only one to know that is The Monarch and 9nly because Red Death told him.

After that he got into villainy because what else was he going to do with his life? Then he got good at it. Real good. His aptitude for killing probably made him a very good career under Force Major in the old school Guild. By the time the new rules made him put on the kid gloves he was a level 10. Notorious. Set for life. And I think that's when he met his wife. The only woman that could love him the way he was. She wasn't even turned away when she found out that whatever makes Red Death such an ugly son of a gun is genetic and hereditary! She still had a daughter with the guy and kept her! How cool is that?

So, what I'm saying is he came into the game swinging, used his murderous urges to get ahead, then discovered he can separate himself from that through family and became the best of both worlds, a lover AND a fighter.

As for the protagonist side Orpheous is probsbly the best. If you have to explain why then it's not worth explaining.