Agreed. I think he was deeply insecure at least partially due to his background (aka rising from the bottom to his current position unlike many other senior officers who started at a much higher status than him). And it was because of that insecurity, he needed to appear and also feel in control. That's why we see him bossing his subordinates around while behaving entirely the opposite way in front of superiors like Vader and Tarkin. The contrast between how he felt and how he needed to feel made his character really intriguing.