OK, so what does the soul actually do? What does it change? Intentions are impossible to verify, let's look at the actions. Angelus went on a rampage against those Buffy cared about to break her spirit...and so did Angel.
No he didn't.
Angelus wanted to end the world as we know it...and so did Angel.
No he didn't.
Spikeus fought to protect the world...and so did Spike.
Not really the same. Spike-us wanted to get laid and and be with Buffy. He took actions to facilitate that which happened to mesh with Buffy's interests. In S2 he allied with Buffy because he hated Angel, which he makes no secret of, not out of any particularly altruistic sentiment.
In S7 and beyond he's doing the right thing because it's the right thing. Because he's a good person.
Both Angel and Angelus seek power, both Spike and Spikeus seek the love and acceptance of the woman they're obsessed with. Hey, maybe there's just Spike and Angel and soul or lack thereof only amplifies, like drugs for instance, what's already there?
Maybe. But desiring power or love aren't "good" or "evil" traits. They're common among just about everyone. You'll find plenty of good people and plenty of horrendous people who want more power than they have and want the affection of those they care about. They're very general traits.
I think that without the evil in Angel there's no Angelus. That's why Angel is responsible. Most vampires don't torture their victims, most vampires don't try to destroy the world. Angelus does because deep down Angel is a one particularly sick bastard.
It's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde basically.
But that doesn't track with what we're shown in the series. The demon is clearly shown to be an invasionary force to the body. The personality of the host body influences the demon, but it's not the "person" committing whatever it is the demon does. Yes, there are aspects of Angel which are clearly dialed up to 11 when Angelus surfaces, aspects which are greatly twisted, but that doesn't make it "Angel's fault". I mean hell, the series establishes clearly that Angel and Angelus have unique memory sets from one another. If Angel is really Angelus, then why does he fight for good? Why does he turn Buffy away in "IWRY", if not to save her when he quite literally has all he wanted in the palm of his hand? If the soul doesn't matter, as you said, then that makes zero sense.
"Angel" is consistently shown to be one of the absolute best people in the Buffyverse. He's probably the single most self-sacrificing hero there is. He's shown, again and again, that he's a hero who does whatever it takes, regardless of personal cost, to help others. And it wasn't guilt that triggered that in him, it was Buffy. How does that track if he and "Angelus" are really the same, and the soul makes no difference?
(BTW, I did think you're chart was pretty awesome though...)
