One thing about wuxia villains, particularly those in Jin Yong's stories, is that rarely are any of them *all* bad. Many villains have a more noble side to them, although they are rarely ruled by it (which is why they're villains).
There are also a number of characters who are on the villainous side by virtue of whom they're aligned with or against, but aren't necessarily bad people. They're good or at least morally ambiguous people who happen to be working on the villainous side. Which people am I thinking of particularly?
1. Ma Gwong Jor (ROCH): He was part of Kublai Khan's retinue of hired mercenary warriors, but he was nothing like the Golden Wheel Monk or Lui Mor Singh. He had a strong sense of decency, and although his martial arts were lousy, he was brave and loyal. Yeung Gor considered him a good friend. When he realized what a bunch of bastards the Golden Wheel Monk's gang was, he stopped working with them.
2. Dat Yee Ba (ROCH): Like Ma Gwong Jor, a good, loyal guy who just happened to owe his loyalties to a villain. This guy also had a sense of decency and compassion. Although I think it's only a TVB scene from ROCH '83, he once protected Little Dragon Girl from an attack by Siu Seung Tze because she had baby Gwok Seung in her arms. A guy who objects to attacking innocent children can't be all bad.
3. Hung Ling Bor (ROCH): For some reason, ROCH had a fairly large share of these morally ambiguous "villains." Lee Mok Sau's primary student was not like her. Hung Ling Bor had a sense of compassion, and spared or saved Luk Mo Seung and Yeung Gor on several occassions, at risk to herself.
4. Southern Seas Divine Crocodile (Great Evil # 3) (DGSD): He was known as one of the "Great Evils," and indeed he was known for such barbarous and cruel acts as twisting people's heads off. Wulin is a rough place, however, and his violent acts were not necessarily any more immoral than, say, Kiu Fung killing people at Tsui Yin Manor. What we saw in Divine Crocodile was a very loyal friend (to his fellow Evils) and follower (to Deun Yin Hing and later, Deun Yu). He was a man of his word, and once you earned his loyalty, you had it for life. If he considers you a friend, he'll stick up for you. His martial arts were not great by the standards of DGSD elites, but he would never run from a fight. Great Evil? This guy had more heroic than evil characteristics, and is probably more heroic than some so-called "heroes."
5. Mui Chiu Fung (LOCH): Although she killed countless people, I never really thought that Mui Chiu Fung, deep down, was truly an evil person. She was misguided, to be sure, and her choice to betray her teacher and learn the 9 Yum White Bone Claws with her husband led her down a dark road, but I don't think she was devoid of compassion or decency.
6. Eight Armed Swordsman (Ah Dai) (HSDS): He was more honorable than the other cronies who served Prince Chagan Timur. Unlike his comrades Ah 2 and Ah 3, I don't see Ah Dai as the type who would torture a helpless man. This guy didn't even want to watch as Cheung 3 Fung taught Cheung Mo Gei the Tai Chi Sword Technique because he thought that would be too dishonorable.
7. The younger Yeun Ming Elder (HSDS): The one who kidnapped Cheung Mo Gei. He had an opportunity once to gain more wealth and power by betraying his sworn brother (the other Yeun Ming Elder), but chose not to. A guy who would do that can't be all bad.
8. West Poison Au Yeung Fung (ROCH only): He was a bona fide cold-blooded villain in LOCH, but by ROCH, we see an entirely different side to him. It was hard to not feel sorry for him, and I think even Gwok Jing had forgiven him for all the things he had done during LOCH.