I would argue that Visser Three has redeeming qualities. Just look at Visser Three circa HBC!
Although yeah, the classic V3 from the beginning of the series was your typical evil villain archetype, screaming and pointing and being a very one-dimensional villain. I think KA did a good job of giving him some depth as the series went on, though. I think she realized that even the classic villain couldn't be static, or else it would ruin her message.
But I'm getting off topic...a cliche isn't necessarily referring to something a company uses. It's referring to something that has been used so much that it loses its meaning.
For example, 'actions speak louder than words' is said often and really people don't take its meaning to heart as much as they would if someone had said it for the first time. It's become cliche.
In the context of this topic, a cliche character (or species) is one that has been used over and over again to the point of becoming predictable. In the fanfic world a Mary Sue would be considered one of the biggest cliche's.
Basically, to use a cliche to describe a cliche (
)
it's been done...
