roxannihilation

Robotnik would still have contempt for Snively, he does for anything that is not himself or created by his own hands really. It is his loss of power and humiliation at the hands of the Freedom Fighters that fuels his violent rage towards him however. Otherwise he's just a yes man he can push around to dwell in his godly status.

 

Robotnik's treatment at the hands of Naugus gives an interesting depth to his relationship with Snively. Most abusers or bullies are believed to been mistreated themselves at some point in life. Naugus didn't just kick Robotnik around, he used his magic to humiliate and make him quiver before him, with Snively usually laughing at his expense. Given how ego is such a huge asset of Robotnik's personality, this likely didn't help into how he ultimately valued his disrespectful nephew the moment he came into power (even in crow form you can see the contempt seething in those eyes as the little weasel mocks him. 'Just you wait. Then it's YOUR turn.').

 

This 'dog kicks dog kicks dog' heirarchy likely would have played part in Snively's turn in Season Three. With Naugus once again degrading Robotnik, he likely would have taken his frustrations out on Snively A LOT more than even standard.

Going back to what E122Psi said, I genuinely assumed that Robotnik took Snively under his wing, so to speak, luring him with the guise of having him be an "heir apparent" or right hand man to his "throne" -- while Julian actually had different goals in mind. I believed that he felt Snively had strengths where alternatively Julian had weaknesses and vice versa, something only Julian saw rather than his eager-to-please nephew noting until possibly years later. However, rather than letting Snively be a right-hand man, Julian preferred to maintain total control of the operation as to where he didn't fall into the same trap with Naugus most likely.

The whole thing with Snively and Robotnik uniting in this goal is something I have yet to fully understand -- were they both using each other from the beginning? Did they have benign intentions for one another to begin with?