Straker is a fun character. He's one of those who can go so easily either way. He's a good man in a bad job - but he can also be at least as psycho as Trask. (Kind of like Jack Olsen if we saw more of him.)
But yeah, he's more mellow - but then we're seeing him before and after SHADO and not so much during it.
Now back to our regularly scheduled Lois & Clark...