What's the point of having powerful beings in the MU?

[Wazdakka]

So everything in the Matoran Universe (Generation 1) has a purpose.

 

Matoran keep Mata Nui running

Rahi somehow also keep Mata Nui running.

Toa protect the Matoran.

Makuta create new Rahi and oversee everything.

Turaga are local leaders and ex-Toa.

 

So why in the world would the Great Beings populate the MU with extremely powerful and potentially dangerous beings that are not part of this system? I'm looking at individuals like Ancient, The Shadowed One, Brutaka, and to a lesser extent, Krekka's Species, Sidorack's Species, and the Skakdi.

What would their role be? 

[Rooster Nui]

A lot of those individuals and species were not always evil, and were initially good. For example: the Skakdi. They turned evil due to their aggressive nature caused by the many experiments Makuta Spirah performed on them.  

 

I'm not exactly sure what all of their roles would be, but I'd say that they were meant as species who'd simply populate different biomes and help around in various ways.

[The 1st Shadow]

The idea with them is that they'd serve other functions. The whole analogy with the MU being like a human bod and the Matoran being red blood cells, and the Toa being white blood cells, all the other races form up the functions of different organs and cells that help keep the robot functioning.

[fishers64]

Powerful beings like them were probably to balance both the factions of Toa and Makuta and prevent either of them from getting too powerful. That, and members of the Order like Brutaka were needed to oppose evil in ways that Toa couldn't - as in killing or imprisoning bad guys.  

[Irrie]

A guess for the Skakdi's existence is that they were created for heavier jobs that normal Matoran couldn't do.

[Wazdakka]

Were members of the Order created for the Order, or did they join the Order after being created for a different purpose?

 

This would matter for Fisher's answer. 

[bonesiii]

Some of them had purposes that fit into the original design of the MU 'ecosystem'. Others were made or empowered later in response to problems since the original non-full-sapience design was changed by (we know, but they didn't) Velika. Of course, some weren't intended by anybody in charge and were made by bad guys or accidents.

 

Your using Makuta as an example actually illustrates an example of the first reason -- Makuta are far, far more powerful than most of the others listed, yet their purpose highlights the need for that power; making any new kinds of Rahi, which could require any number of powers to counter failed experiments that prove dangerous to the inventors. Could be any number of similar purposes to other beings.

[fishers64]

Were members of the Order created for the Order, or did they join the Order after being created for a different purpose?

 

This would matter for Fisher's answer.

It's somewhat indeterminate. Some of them were members of the Hand of Artahka before the Order, but that organization served much the same purpose as the Order - peacekeeping.

 

It seems wise to infer that beings in the Hand were designed for the task, but beings not designed for that task could have joined either organization, and Mata Nui could have made peacekeepers that didn't join the Order for one reason or another.

 

So some of them probably were, but not all have to be.

 

For example, Botar's species were probably designed to watch Matoran and teleport them out of dangerous situations, perhaps forcibly.

[Kopekemaster]

I think it was for "regulation", in a way. Even if they were "bad" in-story, larger-scale roles could be played in a similar way to chemotherapy, or something like that; it isn't really good for the body, but can eradicate things that are even worse for the body.

[Zidonaro]

Also, remember they were not initially sentient. They were basically literal worker robots at one point, with no emotions and etc.

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

Lego made a bunch of weird and different sets and story team decided they all had to be different species because who honestly knows.

 

in-story, there is no reason, because story-team could never provide one that wouldn't sound like an excuse. :T