Was Merrick bad?

You're kidding, right?

I can't believe I'm about to answer this question, because it's pretty inane, but, Merrick TRAINS people (young women specifically) to KILL vampires to keep them in check so they won't destroy mankind.

Otherwise why not become a vampire yourself, and just go heard a bunch of girls or young men to feast on? Why bother training anyone at all?

The whole point of Rutger Hauer's character is that he's a vampire, a servant of "the dark lord" so to speak. The only way he can live is by living off other people's blood, and to do that, he has to bite them, which typically turns them into vampires (killing them).

I can't believe I responded to this question.

What planet are you on??

Don't listen to the other two posters. There's more in these scenes than meets the eye. You were right when you said that Merrick was training them for Lothos.

Merrick keeps hoping reincarnation after rebirth that THIS TIME he will train the slayer and she will kill Lothos permanently. But, between Lothos and the Slayer is a tension. It's a seductive tension that Lothos uses to lure them to their death (and rebirth as a vampire).

So you caught it. It is a game between Merrick and Lothos. However, Merrick isn't getting them ready as a present, he isn't supplying girls for the vampire. He's supplying slayers, and the game they play is WHO WILL WIN THIS TIME>