If the rumours about literal fanfiction writers being hired to handle the characters are indeed true, then I guess it's just the natural outcome that it comes down to such a freaking mess in the end.
I will still maintain the headcanon that the Emperor's "memories" have been implanted by either the Elder Brain or the Chosen for the purpose of using the Knights of the Shield to their benefits, but he just managed to slip the yoke and used said memories as a tool. Considering the one throwaway (because it doesn't affect anything) line of dialogue you can get if you annoy him enough, he was lying and manipulating all along and the PC is nothing but a tool to potentially get rid of the brain with so that he can enjoy his freedom and continue illithiding (read: manipulating from behind the scenes to his benefit) on his own.
Dumbing down the "otherness" argument to just sexuality is also something I personally loathe, as it's as boring and banal as it gets. People can be odd ones out not just because they don't conform to the biologically-driven societal norms, there are plentiful other reasons (especially nowadays, when one can become othered by whom they thought to be aligned with if they try to behave the slightest bit out of enforced tenets of a particular clique).
