1. If he was such a badass angel-wizard, how could Harry have beaten him back at first meeting in the Shedd? Soulfire was brand-new to Harry, but well-known to Thorny; angels are essentially pure soul, so Thorny has *WAY* more magic muscle to throw around in that particular arm-wrestling match, and it's his "native tongue" so to speak, utterly familiar to him for millions of years.
At the Shedd, Soul Fire, if I remember correctly came as a complete surprise to Harry, he had no idea he had been gifted with it, let alone know what it was. He didn't find out about that until later at the hospital and "Jake the Janator" aka Uriel informed him of it, and was very vague about it. It wasn't until Bob tried to explain it, did Harry have much of a clue, it's only now that he seems to have gotten a bit of a handle on how to use it. At the Shedd, Thorny had no clue either that Harry had it, so he was taken completely by surprise.. It was the surprise at that point that gave Harry the advantage against Thorny at the Shedd.
I suspect Namshiel may be on a redemption arc, un-Falling.
Or at least is being an ally-of-convenience against the Outsiders, working with Uriel (or other unFallen angels).
I seriously doubt that Namshiel is working with Uriel, or that Uriel would work with him. I don't think his Boss would approve. Now Marcone on the other hand could be on the redemption road, but only if he eventually rejects the coin and works at it
2. It's just way, way too convenient for Merlin's Castle to have been imported from Europe to the shores of Lake Michigan and set up precisely atop Harry's old laboratory, just in time for the Warden of Merlin's Well to return, and take the Castle off Marcone's hands.
I can only conclude that Thorned Namshiel wanted Dresden in possession of the Castle!
Taken together, these sure make it look like Namshiel is working on the same side as Harry...
You could be right about Namshiel being behind Marcone just happening to aquire Merlin's Castle, and putting it at the site of where Harry lived over his old lab. While I believe your logic for it might be right, but your conclusion is faulty.
It's logical that Namshiel would want a fortress like Merlin's Castle to work out of, he may have wanted it for a long time. He finally has a host, i.e. Marcone, who actually had the financial backing and means of making it happen. Reread the bit in Twelve Months where Harry does the "Wizard of Oz" trick using the leylines under the castle as a power source, when he warns the vanilla demonstrators.
That's why Namshiel wanted that particular location, the leylines that just happen to cross where Harry's basement lab was located. Oh another reason, remember Lea's garden is also located at that particular location. Result there is no reason to conclude that Namshiel is working or attempting to work on the same side as Harry based on the evidence presented.
