Yes, they're bad, but they have justifications for why they're doing everything. (They're horribly mistaken about the consequences of what they're trying to do, but most of them honestly believe in their cause.) And you get to hear their explanations first, before Lord Asriel gets to speak - and when Lyra finally meets up with him at the end of the first book, the first thing he does is pretty horrible.
Update: This post has also been superseded - new comments belong in the latest thread.
The second thread has now also exceeded 500 comments, so after 42 chapters of MoR it's time for a new thread.
From the first thread: