Since everyone seems to be extremely fond of Erza being helpless, and this was the only "badass" image of Ajeel on the Fairy Tail Wiki (I am not scavenging for images), here we go.

So today's feature of "What If?" is about our not-so-favorite Spriggan 12 member, Ajeel Ramal.

Off the bat, I'd like to tell you all something. There's not much you can do to improve Ajeel's character from a purely narrative standpoint. He is a walking cliche, and his role is designed to be the standoff-ish member of the villainous party who is strong but, in reality, not that strong compared to everyone else. He's a taste-tester but also, like, the guy that makes the protagonists feel validated after beating him somehow.

So while I can't really improve on Ajeel's role in the narrative because there would be no point, the real problem with Ajeel is that he's basically a walking anonymity, and this is the case with most of the Spriggan 12. There's no real background to them or lead-up to them which makes most of them fall very flat and feel like cliches. This is why characters like Irene, August, Brandish and Larcade feel a bit more alive and likable than the rest of the Spriggan 12.

Anyways, considering the very vague hints we have from canon, I have a single hypothesis about what Ajeel's background before the Spriggan 12 was. He appears to be royalty of some degree, or, at the very least, nobility within Alakitacia. He would have likely been part of a prominent warmongering nation that looted from others and prospered without care. He is ignorant of the consequences of war and ravishes solely in power and his own authority. But when he faces power that can force him to death, he will quiver.

Kinda cliche, sure. But Ajeel is a walking cliche. What matters in the case of cliches is presentation. If you can present a stereotype in a way that they are constructed as a genuine character with their own personality, then you've done a pretty good job. He might not become that much more likable, but at least he'll be tolerable, ya know.

That's all I really have for Ajeel, since, really, there's not much that you can do with him.