I think the saddest mischaracterization of N is that sometimes, he's just not allowed to be as much of a bastard as he was meant to. Like, I understand where the idea of him being mild mannered and cordial and pleasant comes from; he's not an overtly aggressive character who's an asshole at every turn and him being kind is definitely an aspect of who he is. It's just not all of him and it's a shame we don't utilize his bitchy side more. But that side of him, specifically the way he can be very passive aggressive and/or condescending I feel is slept on and we should utilize it more.
And my personal favorite, from Pokemon Adventures/Pokespe:
And obviously, he's not like this the majority of the time. His dialogue mostly ranges from at least tolerating the people around him without any rudeness to being a genuinely nice and caring guy (especially in B2&W2, where he is noticeably kinder.) I just think it's a bit of a crime that we ignore that he at least has the capacity to behave this way in the first place and I think he should be allowed to do it more often. I want N to call more people stupid. As a treat.