I do agree with a lot of what you’re saying. I think (or perhaps hope) that the characters framed as villains will have more dimension to them than simply good vs. evil. Maybe I’m senselessly optimistic here.

I’ve long held the suspicion that we might actually be the twin on the wrong side of history (for crying out loud, we go around killing Hillichurls knowing who they are). Much as I adore Zhongli, he’s done a lot of troubling things—intentionally or otherwise. All of the Archons, in fact, despite ostensibly being the heroes, have done dubious things. Such is their prerogative as gods (or so the game tells us), but that’s one of the things that makes the Harbingers compelling in their resistance, in my opinion. Their methods may not be pure, but their rebellion doens't come out of nowhere. (Of course, the Tsaritsa’s end goal remains to be seen, but even so). They all have their own reasons for resistance. I’m sympathetic to Pantalone as a result (thanks to over-analyzing Moment of Cessation). I do hope that they end up giving him an arc that allows him to have nuance and that doesn’t go that Marvel movie way.