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Of those who have appeared in the manga and DB/Z anime, which ones are your favourite? Reasoning as to why are welcome, but not essential. For clarification, they have to have been actively loyal servants of another villain, so independent side-enemies such as #17 and #18 don't count.
If there's any Movie or GT villains that stand out, you can include them as honourable mentions (no point with Super as I doubt people are going to be praising Tagoma, Shisami, Sorbet or Moro's goons
).
As for my list:
#1 - Dabura
Along with acting as a benchmark to the previous villain to successfully show how far the Saiyans have come and how far above the previous villain Boo is, Dabura presents a very interesting set of skills with how deadly his magic can make him, as well as his title as King of the Demon Realm creating a lot of interest in this unknown realm that the manga sadly didn't go into (until a terrible spinoff, that is). His battle with Gohan shows him as quite a skilled and composed fighter as well. What makes him stand out most though beyond the more surface level aspects is how he's the only henchman to see the flaws in his master's ambition whilst still remaining loyal to him, with others either blindly being loyal to the higher level villain or simply defecting.
#2 - Raditz
There are a lot of elements that make Raditz stand out when we contrast some of his decisions with Vegeta and how the latter views behaviour that is typical of Saiyans. Unlike Vegeta, Raditz seems to care a fair bit about his family as he attempts to sway Goku when telling him of the death of their parents and even came to Earth to retrieve his brother when the whole thing about Kakarrot's help in their mission being untrue when we see Vegeta and Nappa are more than capable of handling it. His actions and bloodthirsty nature help Raditz act as a benchmark for the Saiyan race whilst also having enough consideration for his family (so long as they meet his expectations) for him to stand out as his own character.
The CHADitz isn't included here as mere numbers cannot measure his brilliance.
#3 - Adjundant Black
Black is up here for one simple reason; being the only henchman with the sense to overthrow their master once they become aware of their incompetence and receiving insults from a master that never showcases any aspect of superiority over him. It allows Black to stand out compared to other henchmen as well as the dynamics of the Red Ribbon Army feel far different from the later villainous groups (other than #17/#18 killing Gero, though none of them were the main villain of their arc).
#4 - General Blue
Blue is overly flamboyant enough to have a clear personality, with it doubling up as a way to show his selfish and merciless nature with how he'll order the executions of those who don't fit his hygiene standards. The anime did basically turn him into aryan
(good thing he didn't have 3 silver coins to give Senbei 
), but at least it serves in showing the degeneracy worthy of a group that labels itself "The world's most evil army" when their other acts are pretty typical of a lot of real world armies in the past.
#5 - Zarbon
Zarbon may be a bit one-note in how he's beauty obsessed, though it's at least a bit more than any of Freeza's henchmen other than Ginyu have going for them (and Ginyu's characterisation is made a bit muddled with his obliviousness to him becoming weaker in Galu's body despite being able to control his Ki). It's also worth noting that Zarbon's nature of not wanting to dirty his hands unless necessary is made apparent with him having an older model scouter than Dodoria, making it apparent he has less necessity in detecting high level warriors (something supported by character bios in Kakarot specifying Zarbon is the reconnaissance expert of the Freeza Force whereas Dodoria is the main enforcer).
Honourable mentions: Anime General White gets a mention for his interests being more fleshed out such as him enjoying drinking alcohol and playing video games. Murasaki also is in the same boat with the anime fleshing him out more through showing his perverted side as well as having him show his ability to be intimidating to the normal human.
If there's any Movie or GT villains that stand out, you can include them as honourable mentions (no point with Super as I doubt people are going to be praising Tagoma, Shisami, Sorbet or Moro's goons
).As for my list:
#1 - Dabura
Along with acting as a benchmark to the previous villain to successfully show how far the Saiyans have come and how far above the previous villain Boo is, Dabura presents a very interesting set of skills with how deadly his magic can make him, as well as his title as King of the Demon Realm creating a lot of interest in this unknown realm that the manga sadly didn't go into (until a terrible spinoff, that is). His battle with Gohan shows him as quite a skilled and composed fighter as well. What makes him stand out most though beyond the more surface level aspects is how he's the only henchman to see the flaws in his master's ambition whilst still remaining loyal to him, with others either blindly being loyal to the higher level villain or simply defecting.
#2 - Raditz
There are a lot of elements that make Raditz stand out when we contrast some of his decisions with Vegeta and how the latter views behaviour that is typical of Saiyans. Unlike Vegeta, Raditz seems to care a fair bit about his family as he attempts to sway Goku when telling him of the death of their parents and even came to Earth to retrieve his brother when the whole thing about Kakarrot's help in their mission being untrue when we see Vegeta and Nappa are more than capable of handling it. His actions and bloodthirsty nature help Raditz act as a benchmark for the Saiyan race whilst also having enough consideration for his family (so long as they meet his expectations) for him to stand out as his own character.
#3 - Adjundant Black
Black is up here for one simple reason; being the only henchman with the sense to overthrow their master once they become aware of their incompetence and receiving insults from a master that never showcases any aspect of superiority over him. It allows Black to stand out compared to other henchmen as well as the dynamics of the Red Ribbon Army feel far different from the later villainous groups (other than #17/#18 killing Gero, though none of them were the main villain of their arc).
#4 - General Blue
Blue is overly flamboyant enough to have a clear personality, with it doubling up as a way to show his selfish and merciless nature with how he'll order the executions of those who don't fit his hygiene standards. The anime did basically turn him into aryan
(good thing he didn't have 3 silver coins to give Senbei ), but at least it serves in showing the degeneracy worthy of a group that labels itself "The world's most evil army" when their other acts are pretty typical of a lot of real world armies in the past.#5 - Zarbon
Zarbon may be a bit one-note in how he's beauty obsessed, though it's at least a bit more than any of Freeza's henchmen other than Ginyu have going for them (and Ginyu's characterisation is made a bit muddled with his obliviousness to him becoming weaker in Galu's body despite being able to control his Ki). It's also worth noting that Zarbon's nature of not wanting to dirty his hands unless necessary is made apparent with him having an older model scouter than Dodoria, making it apparent he has less necessity in detecting high level warriors (something supported by character bios in Kakarot specifying Zarbon is the reconnaissance expert of the Freeza Force whereas Dodoria is the main enforcer).
Honourable mentions: Anime General White gets a mention for his interests being more fleshed out such as him enjoying drinking alcohol and playing video games. Murasaki also is in the same boat with the anime fleshing him out more through showing his perverted side as well as having him show his ability to be intimidating to the normal human.
