The REAL question is: were the billions of deaths and sterilizations during the jihad worth it, in return for Fremen “freedom” which turned out to be religious fascism?

Herbert’s main theme in the series is that charismatic leaders can be dangerous and ought to come with a warning ⚠️label.

Now, the God Emperors Golden Path is one of but a few ways Leto and Paul could see through prescience, the path of tyranny to evoke a diaspora of mankind. In the end Paul wasn’t prepared to decide and Leto chose.

But that wasn’t the ONLY path and the jihadi wasn’t the ONLY path. These were decisions made by men who turned out to be murderous tyrants. The Atredis always loved power.