I think that Marc Alaimo excels in the part. With all of Dukat's machinations and manipulating he could have ended up as a mustache twirling, cliched joke. Dukat is no joke. One moment Dukat has me sympathetic for him as he follows a path that could redeem him. Then, he's trying to destroy what might redeem him. Such a great, unpredictable character. I agree that DS9 handled Dukat perfectly. Even the cause of Dukat's grief that ignited his descent into madness was sullied. Sure, he loved Ziyal. He also first intended to kill her.