So....Iroh...

I was always torn between Iroh and Toph as my favorite character, until I watched the show with my wife.
I don't know why it never clicked with me before, but Iroh is not a good guy.
He was the fire nation's general and the dragon of the west, so how is he so lovable?
You figure when he seiged ba sing se he had to of killed thousands of earth benders, as his seige was multiple years long and he did breach the walls. Not to mention his other untold escapades. He has probably murdered tens of thousands of other nation warriors.
Yet we feel bad for him. His loss of his son, his troubled relationship with his family and his father like bond with zuko, another killer.
I always thought of Iroh as a wise man who tried to avoid meaningless deaths, but his backstory says otherwise.
It hit me when my wife and I we watching s2 episode 13? When they are giving everyone a short side story arc and Iroh is singing a song in memory of his son, and my wife muttered that she didnt feel sorry for him. I almost asked why and then I realized that Iroh isnt a good person.
He may be trying to atone, or the death of his son may of changed him. But does that really matter for all the lives he has taken in the name of the fire nations world domination ploy?
Has anyone elses view of him changed? Why or why not? Did some people come to this realization while watching thr show and still admire him anyway?