Istvan Toth was such a villain. Everytime you see him, he taunts Henry about his dead parents, his lost sword, Radzig not considering him as worthy, the fact that that their childhood was oh so very similar, about how he’ll "take everything" and be "lord of the realm" while Henry coughs up blood in the dirt because "the stronger dog fucks the bitches" and "war is a nasty business". He dresses all in black - even his horse - like fucking Darth Vader. He tortures you (mentally and physically) every time you meet. He harasses every step of Henry’s journey, from his grief related to Skalitz to his attempts at freeing the land from Sigismund, even inside his nightmares fighting with the man Henry tries to be. Yet he’s all big words and runs away as soon as shit gets real - escaping Talmberg and Nebakov like a snake and frankly terrible spy, since everyone knows him. Istvan is THE character that’s so ridiculously evil it’s hysterical, and very enjoyable to throw out of the window.
And then you have other villains. More forgettable, or nuanced, or both. Markvart, who actually seems very human when you kill him - although he’s undoubtedly a liar and a bastard (i ReMEmBeR eVerYoNe i KiLlED I jUsT lOvE mY fAMiLy well then why don’t you stay with them instead of waging war and killing innocents ?). Von Bergow who’s a very smart, cunning and powerful asshole way too agile for his age. Brabant, who’s also stupidly evil, and he’s somehow even dumber than Istvan who somehow gets trampled by Henry over and over again. Zbyshek, who throws Henry to the cutthroats and Theresa to the rapists - no hesitation about killing him even after he saved my life (and his). All these bad guys are different but none can hold a candle to Istvan. Real cartoon movie bad guy and I love him for that. Oh yeah and Erik is here too.
