Kaido was better than many others, I agree with the original poster. As pirates most of them are scum towards civilians, other pirates or Marines but they differ in how they treat their own crews or allies.
Buggy - might care a bit but would not risk anything for crew
Kuro - cared for no one
Don Krieg - cared for no one
Arlong - he cared for them all
Crocodile - Only Mr 1
Enel - cared for no one
And so on
Kaido obviously cared for several of his crew and even his ally Big Mom although he didn't want to acknowledge it. She would have died earlier without his intervention, and I dont think he saved her because he was scared of dealing with Rooftop 5 all alone.