Interesting read! Here's the the template mentioned for powerful antagonists:

“Antagonists should be hyper-individualistic bullies. They should threaten the social order and induce righteous indignation in protagonists, incentivizing them and their peers to band together, fight back, and finally affirm their prosocial values.”

I disagree. The above describes someone like a Bond villain, which are easily dealt with, or whose legacy quickly dissipates after they are dead. The really dangerous antagonist is one who creates powerful memes and bands together their followers against the established order.

Defining them this way dissociates antagonists from simplistic , because the "evil" antagonist of today is tomorrow's charismatic leader, as happens many times in life.