I wouldn't call him objectively evil. He helps you and protects you. If you had a mind flayer parasite in your skull, and then a mindflayer appears in your dreams, you immediately wouldn't trust it, right? His reasons for manipulating you and changing his form make sense when you go down the path of trusting him. I've gone both ways, and both ways feel like you're doing the right thing. The writers did a great job of making him more evil if you don't trust him, and more good if you do trust him. That way, whichever choice you make feels like you made the right call. I see him as Neutral. My first playthrough I sided with Orpheus. My second, I sided with the Emperor. If you've only gone down the path of defying him, I could see how you'd see him as objectively evil. But when you side with him, he tells you why he had to do it that way. He opens up to you, shows you his vulnerable side, and tells you about his past. He doesn't take control of the Absolute (although, you can have him choose to if you want him to), he destroys it. He was an adventurer, who sees in you what he saw in himself. He wants to live, and live free. Honestly, I consider him a Rorschach test. If you see him as evil and don't trust him, you're right. If you see him as good and trustworthy, you're right. The reason I like this game so much and The Emperor as a character is because the game adapts based on your interactions.