I know there has been plenty of discussion regarding Zaeed about his lack of backstory, and his very unlikable loyalty mission that left a lot of people with a bad taste in their mouths. I felt the same way, until I ended up taking him on a bunch of missions and hearing how he talks. He definitely changes his tune after his loyalty mission, and on severely occasions he egged me to help survivors, gave his honest opinions, and generally seemed way more generous than before. I understand the talk during the missions is more scripted stuff, but regardless, he sounds like a better person, and it sounds like he feels like he's fighting more for a cause and giving insight, rather than some short-sighted bullshit about "just getting the job done no matter the cost".
 
Overall, I've really grown attached to Zaeed. If you use him more often, he becomes a much more viable and likable character - and not just in his skillset - but also his attitude. Inferno Grenade is a solid technique as well.

Yeah I know he could of been one of my favourites even, especially with his fakin awesome voice actor. But to me, knowing that he has so little character developement really soils alot of his potential. I'm glad he at least offers the usual commentary during the chat-scenes, but still he can't match the other team members for me personally.

 
Also why don't people generally like his loyalty mission? =S I thought it was pretty good, and I'm plenty grateful for the flamethrower it gives me 8P

I wish he had died instead of Legion on my mission, I hate Zaeed... but I won't change it, one Shepard only, one mission only.

I actually liked his loyalty mission and the inferno grenade isn't a bad power either.

Shepard is also known for getting the job done no matter the cost.  They don't call her the Butcher of Torfan for nothing.
 
 
And losing Legion is okay.  For he is many.

I did not like him because outside of his loyalty mission you have zero interaction with him. He will tell you about his gun or how he killed a krogan battlemaster. But aside from that he did not bring much to the table. But I do understand his nature of being a DLC character and not being as fleshed out as the main posse. I hope Kasumi is at least interesting, and has dialogue trees. Bioware game characters with no dialogue trees are just throwaway npcs to me.

" Shepard is also known for getting the job done no matter the cost.  They don't call her the Butcher of Torfan for nothing.   And losing Legion is okay.  For he is many. "

Zaeed was probably my favourite character because he was just there to get the job done, get paid and move on. He has great stories about killing things, his loyalty mission is about killing things, and that dude is just fucking good at killing things! The only other character I enjoyed talking to was Thane, and just listening to EDI and Joker talk to each other. I played with the trash ejector more than talking to the other people because it was way more interesting.

I'm watching Enemies at the Gate and that sniper that with jude law who dies mid jump in the beginning, really reminded me of Zaeed. I wonder if that is where they got their inspiration from.

I liked his loyalty mission and talking to him about all of his stuff he keeps with him while playing with the garbage compactor 

I don't hate Zaeed, I just think he wasn't given enough detail as the other squad members. Maybe if he have more dialogue or something I would have liked him better.

I dont like him cuz Straight soldiers are kinda useless.  Garrus can do as much and more than Zaeed can.  He is a poor choice for a squadmate and has little interesting dialogue. 
 
Though, his accent is pree bitchin.

Of course he is awesome!
 

" I dont like him cuz Straight soldiers are kinda useless.  Garrus can do as much and more than Zaeed can.  He is a poor choice for a squadmate and has little interesting dialogue.  Though, his accent is pree bitchin. "

I think,  people generally hate him for silly reasons, just because you can't talk to him doesn't mean he doesn't have history like everyone else.
 
He's a great character in my opinion, yes you can't talk to him, yes he was free, yes he is one ugly motherfucker and nobody has any excuse to say he's pushy or something, you bring him along for the collector mission where he knows he may ultimately die but you do one small mission for him but it annoyed me how Shepard generally was so reluctant, when all he wants is one mission done and that's all he asks of you. 
 
And as for his class, sometimes a pure soldier is what you need. The higher difficulties IF you use your squad properly unlike most people who let them sit there, you'll notice his fire bombs are a pretty effective weapon because they damage armour quite a bit and damage health and that sometimes a fast and hard hitting soldier is what you need because pure soldiers have weapon choice of shotguns too.
 
Also his accent is perfect for who he is I think.

" I dont like him cuz Straight soldiers are kinda useless.  Garrus can do as much and more than Zaeed can.  He is a poor choice for a squadmate and has little interesting dialogue.  Though, his accent is pree bitchin. "

I liked him as a character and thought he had a pretty decent loyalty mission.  I won't spoil it by saying what I chose to do, but let's just say he ended up loyal.  His character model looks fantastic too - especially his fucked up face.
 
Fair enough you can't go into up close discussion mode with him, but I bet by the time you take into account all of his stories and the stuff around him you can ask about, he probably has just as much to say as any of the other characters.  I certainly felt like I knew just as much about his backstory as I did about anybody elses by the end of the game.

Yep I agree Zaeed was pretty much my first choice for every mission- he looked and sounded like a tough s.o.b and he actually had quite alot to say inbetween missions. Loyalty mission was ok- not as dragged out of the rest though. There's too many Tali lovers lately Zaeed is the man!

I hate him

Big fan of Zaeed's character.  His integration was lacking though, and not just because you can't' enter dialogue mode with him.  With the other characters the recruitment made you feel a little attached to them.  Him, you walk in, say hi, and he's with you.  Not much attachment there, even though I know you're kind of not supposed to feel attached.

Even after his loyalty mission I decided to use him as cannon fodder.

" Shepard is also known for getting the job done no matter the cost.  They don't call her the Butcher of Torfan for nothing.   And losing Legion is okay.  For he is many. "

I'll put my feelings towards him this way, I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure he dies during my second playthrough.

Who doesn't like setting a backstabbing scum-sucker on fire?

I really don't understand the hate people have for Zaeed. He is one of my favorite squad members and was a permanent squad member on my renegade playthrough. Zaeed is also one of the only characters who it makes sense that he would follow you on a suicide mission. When you talk to him, you find out that he has been on plenty of "suicide missons" before and has proven himself as a survivor. Why wouldn't you want a guy with a badass accent and proven track record of surviving the unsurviable on your team? 
 
PS, I am "waxing goddamn nostalgia" about how awesome Zaeed is.

Whats wrong with his loyalty mission?
 
I thought it was one of the best in the game.
 
Boo hoo i had to make a hard decision?

I really like Zaeed!

He was a solid addition to Mass Effect! 

his stories are awesome, and he has some of the best quotes too

He is the only NPC squad member with disruptor ammo so he can be useful, but he didn't have enough depth as a character. Not being able to talk to him on the ship sucked

" He is the only NPC squad member with disruptor ammo so he can be useful, but he didn't have enough depth as a character. Not being able to talk to him on the ship sucked "