Yeah the first Nero was older and rather odious. He was a lecherous, sexist pig, more evil, less funny. I’m just skimming that file, since it’s been so long since I’ve read Julia and I forgot a bunch of the changes I made to him. It looks like I did try to make him sympathetic, and not actually everything he says is delusional. He’s as sane as Julia is, which is not saying much mind you. He does seem to mean well, in a weird sort of way.
It seems to me that he does mean well but that he is just a bit (actually A LOT) naive and thinks too highly of himself and that combination gets in the way of his better judgement as to how to go about doing the actual saving. It’s almost like he thinks of himself as too much the hero and that he’s the only force that can save Rome. Almost.