I think you are, perhaps, missing one small bit of context (but I could certainly be wrong). As I wrote earlier this week, the GRRM books seem written almost entirely from the perspective of the political theory of “Realism.”

Realism does not just hold that “might makes right” (although that is a possible outcome) it presumes that actors are rational and that the most strategic, dispassionate, and capable leaders with access to power tend to win.

Of course, Benioff and Weiss have already done great violence to the logic of the books (often bending the internal logic into pretzels to get from point A to point Z as quickly as possible) so, in a sense, all bets are off as to their desire to hold to the intent of GRRM.

However, I would strongly suggest that the books were GRRM’s attempt to deconstruct many of the core tropes of Fantasy Fiction. GRRM could care less if you have a dragon, magic, or 1000 elves at your side unless you have the wisdom or craft to use them strategically. In that sense, IMHO, Varys (and Olenna) are stand-ins for Martin’s POV.

Thanks for your interesting post!