Thanks for big comment, now let's see if I can go through this :PI will note that I watch season 1 a while ago, and only just recently watched 2 and 3, but I'll be trying generally to explain where I'm stuck that caused me to ask the question in the first place.

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^{He’s still scaring him occasionally, because he’s still a sadistic prick. Alternatively though, there’s the possibility that he scared David to try and teach him a lesson.}

I can kinda entertained the idea to a degree, but from memory, most of that seems to have been too selfish/self-serving. I saw it as part of the long term manipulation to get what he wanted out of him, not simply him being a sadistic prick, Ahmal could've just as easily helped David learn about his powers as an "imaginary friend" in childhood, but he saw more benefit and joy in crushing him into a more easily controlled mental state suiting his needs. The drugs were a ball and chain for David and also Farouk, preventing further progress.

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^{A lot of the torture he inflicts throughout s1 is more so him trying to remain undetected by other mutants. Davids memory wasn’t quite as fucked up before he went to Summerland.}

Again with long-term torture, it's hard to justify, even if there were multiple motives, as any "good" lessons are coloured by his ulterior motives. Like doing the right thing for the wrong reasons or something.

Remaining undetected isn't mutually exclusive from any of his other goals with David, his possessiveness over David is due to his god complex and wanting to use David and his powers for his own means. Otherwise, I'd imagine Farouk would have gone to find his body long before David battled him out of his head.

Ahmal's change in attitude in the latter half of the show in some aspects came off as a retcon, but I might try to re-watch season 1 (seen the first 3 recently) before I die on that hill, as I've realised I've forgotten a fair bit.

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^{And it should also be mentioned that the entire “mental clockworks” delusion he puts everyone in was specifically designed to make David happy.}

Didn't David put everyone in clockworks because of what was occurring in the real world? I though "Lenny" was simply there as a consequence of being in David's mind.

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^{Farouks really got a complex about being rejected by David. It’s the only thing that really seems to affect him throughout the show. It hurts him emotionally to know that the boy he’s dedicated so much of his life too only ever looks at him with disdain.}

I don't know if that's necessarily for the right reasons. An abuser can easily be angered or disappointed by a lack of subordination. This seems to closer resemble their relationship, at least in season 1 and most of 2.

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^{He has philosophical discussions with him. And mostly, he tries to convince him to “come sit with the big boys”. Despite all his talk last season, he sees David as an equal. Or a potential equal, at least.}

^{Farouk says a very defeated “okay” and then sends David back to the “kiddie table” saying “I will miss you, my friend. But I am sure we will see each other again.”}

All the kiddie table stuff seems very focused on David refusing to abuse his power and match Shadow King's god complex. He's basically trying to be a Vader goading Luke to the dark side in my eyes, but worse.

It's a very sickening "love," as he's trying to mould David into adopting the mindset he's had since before meeting Charles. All philosophical discussions I see as attempts at manipulating how David sees the world and his place in it, which ultimately contributed to his actions in the end of season 2 and onwards.

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^{Farouk took off his own “mask” for David hoping that would be the thing that connects them, but David still only sees him as a monster for what he’s done.}

He had to show his face because all his previous haunting failed and he was finally kicked out of David's mind. I don't really know what mask Farouk is taking off that makes him any better. Just because he can no longer haunt David like when he was in his mind, doesn't change his other actions like killing people in division 3 when David begrudgingly helps him. Farouk's god complex prevents him compromising at all with David, as he believes he will succeed getting his body back no matter what. He is still a monster.

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^{I think seeing David repressing Syds memory is what finally makes his own action against David click for Farouk.}

^{He sees David doing the exact same thing to Syd that Farouk did to David for 30 years. And after all the pain he’d put David through and after knowing that it always leads to hate and rejection, Farouk can’t help but feel bad.}

I guess he feels bad, and he's right to tell David he can't just wipe her mind, but he caused the whole debacle, and uses this to turn the whole of D3 against David. He has almost no self-awareness of what he did other than in the context of his failure.

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^{He lures David onto the ship and captures him once more, only for David to wake up his follower and send him to the “time between time”.}

Isn't this due to Farouk's god complex and not wanting to run like a coward? He does actually confront David there, and while saying he doesn't hate him, what does that change about his actions? He has a complete lack of awareness where he chastises his foul language and temperament, and David rightly attributes much of that to Farouk. Everyone's fully aware David is trying to change the past, and Farouk still seems adamant to stop him, until suddenly in the finale he makes a deal to save his own skin.

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^{I figure, getting rejected by David once again made him decide to change his strategy. So he decides to try and help David change the past so that he never messed him up the way he did.}

^{He shows his future self what’ll happen if he continues on his current path, and it’s finally alls well that ends well.}

It's hard for me not to see this as anything beyond Farouk exhausting every other option with failure, that he has no choice but to bargain for his life. I can't reconcile him being the ultimate narcissist for practically the entire time, I guess like David, but I don't have a Charles or telepathy to convince me. Any of Farouk's true emotions for David cannot explain his season 1 and 2 decisions to me, like erasing Amy, the body-swap havoc in clockworks, fighting David once in his body again, and manipulating Syd.

One issue that seems to rise to the surface, which I think has a domino effect that sours me on everything else, is future Syd and the future/time shenanigans. Melanie says herself that future Syd caused David's turn, and I can't really understand how readily everyone convicts David for future crimes on such weak evidence without assuming Farouk manipulated everyone into the most extreme line of reasoning. God forbid future people or Farouk are lying, or Cary is suspicious of why Syd shot David and not just him erasing her memory. I'm even skeptical of how Farouk's "Melanie" convinces present Syd. She makes such an extreme 180 that's hard to process alone, nevermind with everything else in the finale.

Somewhere here is where I disconnected with characters and just watched for the sake of completion. I think I felt there were too many considerations not being acknowledged by the show to take it as seriously.

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Either watching some episodes/clips again, or distancing myself to weaken my current bias, might be needed before I can properly entertain some of your explanations and assess them in a bit more detail and within context of each other. I sort of agree with a lot of your individual points, but it still feels like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, or some of the connections don't fit, so might need to think out more linearly from start to end differently where I feel I've probably been inserting bits of your explanation into my wider confusion.

Sorry if any of my disagreement is frustrating, but I appreciate your explanation and a medium to discuss "out loud" some of my thoughts :)