I'm not sure either of the non subversion Buffy examples actually apply.
1. Spike wasn't really Angelus' Dragon, he was kinda just kept around for Angelus to mock, and didn't really partake in the action until he recovered from his injuries, at which point it was an Enemy Mine with Buffy against Angelus, if anyone was Angelus' Dragon, I'd say it was Drusila.
2. Wasn't it the episode after his old boss died (if not the same episode) that Trick ended up working for the Mayor, he may have planned to become Big Bad, but to my memory he never actually got a chance to serve that role at any point.
I'm not sure either of the non subversion Buffy examples actually apply.
1. Spike wasn't really Angelus' Dragon, he was kinda just kept around for Angelus to mock, and didn't really partake in the action until he recovered from his injuries, at which point it was an Enemy Mine with Buffy against Angelus, if anyone was Angelus' Dragon, I'd say it was Drusila. 2. Wasn't it the episode after his old boss died (if not the same episode) that Trick ended up working for the Mayor, he may have planned to become Big Bad, but to my memory he never actually got a chance to serve that role at any point.