When people talk about fictional pirates, the overall term that is usually associated with them is evil. This is particularly relevant to the swashbuckling Pirates Of The Caribbean movies, where some characters are seen to be selfish and ruthless killers, who take what they can and give nothing back.
However, that doesn't mean this applies to all characters. In the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies, some of the best characters, like Will Turner, showed they were different due to the moral code they strictly adhered to. In fact, several of the pirates were seen to be far more honorable than some of the supposed "good guys." If someone asked fans who they considered evil, then this is a term they would often assign to the villains of the story, who have far more depth to them than anyone's willing to admit (with even the most basic, obvious, and surprising of foes have darkness lurking in their bones).
The Mermaids
The trouble with mermaids in any media is that audiences seem to forget that there are two kinds of mermaids. One form of mermaids is the classic kind, the kind that follows the laws of The Little Mermaid. Then there's the other kind - the kind that's more akin to the Sirens of Greek mythology and similar to the ones seen in Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Strangers Tide.
These Mermaids, although brief in their appearance, are vicious, brutal, and vile creatures, who drag sailors to their doom. Although one or two end up having actual feelings for sailors, others are more likely to devour sailors.
Jack The Monkey
Surprisingly enough, plenty of pirates did keep animals as pets on their ships. While parrots were the most common, Pirates Of The Caribbean made monkeys more popular - especially with the usage of Jack the Monkey, Barbosa's pet that constantly plagued the heroes of the films.
Technically a pirate given his connection to Barbosa, Jack is cruel and vicious, causing all sorts of problems for the crew of whatever ship it runs across during its time at sea. While not as bad a villain as others, he still stands out.
Angela
Love can be a cruel thing and for Jack Sparrow, that's commonplace. With most of his loves coming for blood, one does rise above the rest: the daughter of Blackbeard himself, Angela. A crafty pirate who Jack encounters on his journeys, Angela is more dangerous than she looks.
Betraying Jack multiple times and plotting his demise at the end of the fourth movie, Angela might have held love for Jack at one point but now only evil truly lies in her heart for the pirate and any others who cross her.
Ian Mercer
Henchmen are always going to end up doing some pretty nasty deeds. Ian Mercer is one such henchman, a dreadful and foul officer in the British navy, who ends up being Cutler Beckett's right-hand man as he scoured the Seven Seas in search of pirates.
Mercer was responsible for several horrific acts, including killing Elizabeth Swan's father and ordering Davy Jones to murder scores of pirates to benefit his boss. In the end, fans were almost happy to see Mercer die at the hands of Davy Jones.
Captain Hector Barbosa
Out of all the villains in Pirates Of The Caribbean, Hector Barbosa is without a doubt the most interesting. Although a pirate, Barbosa's actions are almost pure, as he scours the seas in search of a way to feel something again after being damned to walk as the undead. Eventually, he would even give his life to save his long-lost daughter.
Despite his positive actions, Barbosa still has plenty of evil in his heart. After double-crossing his rival Jack Sparrow in several Pirates Of The Caribbean movies, attacking Port Royal and betraying his own men, Barbosa's a tricky and dangerous pirate who has intriguing intentions but vile interactions.
Lord Cutler Beckett
Lord Cutler Beckett to many doesn't seem like that admirable of a villain. Many would take Barbosa over Beckett or any others. Yet, when talking about evil, while Barbosa has done plenty of evil deeds, he found redemption whereas Beckett and so many others never did.
Many Pirates Of The Caribbean fans agree that the worst thing about Beckett is his apathy and lack of consideration for others. A notorious pirate hunter whose sole objective is to wipe them off the face of the earth for "good business", Beckett always acts on his promise. Branding Jack and many others, forcing Davy Jones to do his bidding, and instigating the deaths of countless pirate supporters, Beckett is not a well-liked villain and a horrible person.
Captain Armando Salazar
There's nothing more terrifying than the undead and that's something Pirates Of The Caribbean always took advantage of. From Barbosa and his crew to Davy Jones, Captain Armando Salazar was introduced in Dead Men Tell No Tales as a Spanish pirate hunter, who was trapped in the Devil's triangle and became a vengeful spirit.
Wanting revenge on Jack Sparrow (like so many others), Salazar continues his vicious streak of hunting down and taking out one pirate after another. Wrecking death and destruction with his undead crew wherever he went, Salazar was finally brought down in a fitting end during the fifth Pirates Of The Caribbean movie in a manner that encapsulated his evil nature.
Blackbeard
Even poorly made movies can have evil villains. Although not nearly as threatening as his historical counterpart, Blackbeard is still a frightening foe to sail the seas. Armed with his supernatural ship, an undead crew, and his daughter, Blackbeard is a force to be reckoned with.
Seeking eternal life, Blackbeard stops at nothing to get "what's his," murdering, pillaging, and turning anyone who gets in his way, including his own daughter, who he almost let die if not for Jack Sparrow's interference.
Davy Jones
It can be said that there are no pirates as vile as the likes of Davy Jones himself. A former pirate captain turned sea abomination after failing to uphold his end of a deal with Calypso, Jones's once warm heart turned cold and cruel, as did his crew.
Helming the Flying Dutchman, Jones scours the seven seas, searching for new recruits and feeding many characters to the legendary sea monster, the Kraken. Throughout the course ruse of Pirates Of The Caribbean, Jones was a constant and vicious threat to Jack, Will, and Elizabeth, remorselessly bringing death and destruction wherever he went.