The Empire tends to be better written. They have clear and meaningful goals that they express directly. I felt like I understood and identified with the empire characters in 2.0's plot far more than with the Scions, particularly - they were enigmatic to the point of seeming to have no clear goals whatsoever. I felt a marked lack of connection to any of the Scions, who never really told me what they hoped to achieve in the greater scheme of things. I can't have been the only one to whom that seemed odd.

The Empire, on the other hand, has been pretty blunt about their goals, and their actions follow suit - enforce a social order that just so happens to completely suppress the development of primals, who have the clear and present potential to be far more insideous and harmful than even your run of the mill totalitarian regime. And they're obviously meritocratic - no more fetching kupo nuts for me!

Yeah, I'd side with the Empire in a heartbeat. Rat what remains of the Scions out, for certain - they were never really forthright with me, now, were they? Beastmen? Boo-hoo. Eikon lovers, idolators. They ought to apply to the Empire if they want to distance themselves from the activities of their peers.