Yeah, when we first saw him he seemed like he 'could' be a gentle giant.
true, I guess they really needed an out and out bad guy..someone who didn't blur the lines whatsoever. And it worked. It allowed fans of both campes (Losties and Others) to have a common enemy right there on the island.
That said, I wonder what they could have done to humanise him, had they wanted?
I guess a guy like Keamy kinda makes us appreciate other characters..even people like Jack, because despite his bad points, he is actually trying to do what he thinks is right..whereas Keamy is just doing what he's paid to do..he's not even thinking about it..he's just doing it. I guess the only time when Keamy did show signs of questioning what he's being paid to do was when he asked Ben why Widmore would go to such lengths to capture him alive. I guess Keamy really seemed puzzled by this - I would like to think a part of his bemusement was his conscious asking him 'what are you doing Martin!? This is crazy!"..but I guess everyone is curious..