I would rather see them guided to better behaviour than driven away as that leads to them spreading bad vibes.

All too true, and happened literally a million times already.

they are not the power-crazed monsters that some portray them as.

I have seen some screenshots from their discord that suggest otherwise. Absolutely reprehensible behaviour towards people that seek off the blacklist, and concede they will reform their ways.

Personally, I reckon they should conduct their business on chain, and not on discord. Hive business is not discord's, and discord is a malevolent surveillance device, and HW business should be on chain where everyone can see how they treat folks.

There is obvious an image problem with HW

It's not just an image. They opinion flag. It's utterly contrary to the purpose of Hive. They don't need to compromise. They need to quit censoring free speech and stick to their baileywick of censoring spam, scams, and plagiarism. They also should not be profiteering by self voting with funds from Hive. That's just scammy.