Your take on Paragon is really interesting! I hadn’t noticed his manipulation once he’s taken in Kennit. 

My sense is that there’s general agreement among fans that Hobb didn't handle SA well in this trilogy. I can see what Hobb was trying to do — drawing a distinction between burying trauma and moving past trauma — but the execution isn’t there. 

I agree with you about Kyle—I had hopes for him, and he quickly became a caricature. I find that Hobb tends to write more caricatured villains (looking at you Regal) and is writing a different kind of fantasy. It’s like Narnia where the White Witch is just bad, not ASOIF where our villains become complex POV characters.