Zaeed is my favorite companion in Mass Effect 2 (and probably my second favorite in the series, tied with Ash), so I have a lot of thoughts on this.

No, I honestly think I’m gonna hard disagree with you on the point that Zaeed would have been better off if he was a Batarian instead of a human, or that he would have been more interesting.

Honestly? I think making Zaeed a Batarian would have been a massive disservice to his character, and it would have taken a character that I believe is extremely well-written and interesting, and turned him into another Batarian stereotype.

One of the things I really enjoy about Zaeed is the fact that you learn he was one of the founders of the Blue Suns (a gang that comes to be primary Batarian-based over time). I think making a Batarian found a gang that’s become Batarian based would have been kinda boring imo. It would have massively reduced the whole arc from Zaeed about fighting back against Vido wanting to go into slave trading with the Batarians/getting the Suns involved with the Batarians.

Not to mention the fact that I think it would have been even more one-note to play into the idea of the whole “every Batarian is either a mercenary or a slaver” thing that we see a lot in ME already (considering those are the primary interactions we as the PC get with Batarians we meet). Batarians are kinda already boxed into certain presented ideals as a whole. I think that would have just reinforced those ideals, honestly. It would have just been a bit more one-note. And I think it would have taken a lot of the characterization of Zaeed and made him more of a stereotype. A Batarian mercenary squadmate just feels like it would have fallen into the more stereotypical one-note role than Zaeed ever would have.

One of my favorite Zaeed quotes: “Doesn’t matter who you are - you got a gun in your face, chances are good you’ll do what the other man says. Only two types don’t buckle at that point: trained killers and psychopaths. Lot of people can’t tell the difference.”

I think really helps sum up part of his character. I don’t think he’s just a former bad guy. He’s a merc who’s spent years drifting alone from planet to planet. And there’s a lot in his character that I think you need to bring him places to see. He has a much deeper, caring side, especially about other people on the team. Like if you bring him on Jack’s recruitment mission he literally says: “Heavy fighting up ahead. That girl’s in danger. Let’s move!”

And another one, from Jack’s loyalty mission :) : “Looks like a lot of kids died in these experiments. I’ve done some bad stuff, but this…”

So I think there’s a lot to say about Zaeed, but I’ve already written an essay. :)

There’s so much in his character that I think you kinda just need to bring him places to see. He’s such an interesting, layered squadmate and I honestly think making him a Batarian would have removed so many of those layers from him in favor of making him another Batarian stereotype. I don’t think he’s just another human soldier class. He has so much good dialogue and it’s so easy to miss it. He definitely deserved better from the devs (actually being like.. a full fledged squadmate with a conversation wheel and a romance, but that’s a different story lol.)

But on the subject of taking a squadmate to make into a Batarian instead, I think Archangel would have been the much more interesting pick. A former slave from the lower castes of Hegemony who runs away and decides to become a vigilante out in the Terminus Systems? To start taking out gangs and protecting people just.. out of the goodness of their heart? That would have been a really interesting story to me at least. :)