Ba'al and Bete Noire

Bete Noire is the city of sin. It drives you toward sin upon entrance into the city. Ba'al was already at the far end of the spectrum for traditional forms of sin which leaves little left to explore... except what Goa'uld consider sins. Put simply, Ba'al's sin is becoming human. Prior to his entrance into the city he had already started to become more human in his way of thinking. From a Goa'uld perspective lowering yourself to a human level is not only a sin but degrading. Thinking of humans as equals is likewise a sin. Thinking of them as anything but mindless masses to be taken advantage of is unheard of.
The city is making him nice, a fact Ba'al hates. He has been fighting that urge for months. He's allowed himself some small outlets for this 'niceness' in a few choice people(Inara, Colonel Young and Needy, mainly.) who has deemed worthy or at least not likely to spread the word of his new found weakness of humanity.
Despite the city slowly pulling him toward everything a Goa'uld is not supposed to be, Ba'al still maintains as much of his ruthless tenancies as he can afford. Likewise, his version of caring can be utterly terrifying. He will hurt people he likes simply to be the one to heal them. He can be over-protective to a smothering point. He is most definitely not someone you want to cross if you mess with what he has deemed as his.

Ba'al is keenly aware of the affect the city has been having on him. He's been striving to control it and override it but some guilty little part of him likes the changes. His ego likes being viewed as a heroic presence now and then.

Make no mistake, Ba'al is still dangerous and will lash out if he feels he's been slighted.