should have given them the donatium

>>18425822
They redeemed themselves in the end fighting alongside Maxentius.

>>18425822
Over time loyalty shifted from principle (protect the emperor) to advantage (back whoever benefits them most). That's how they assassinated emperors who lost their favor and installed new ones, even auctioning the throne after killing Pertinax.

They stopped being bodyguards and became kingmakers.

The Praetorian Guard is believed to have killed at least 5 or maybe 6 Roman emperors directly, though they were involved in the downfall of several more.

they were protecting the next emperor

>>18426364
Upon marching on Rome after the assassination of Emperor Pertinax by the Praetorians, Severus ordered the guard to meet him unarmed. He then cashiered (disbanded) them, stripped them of their armor, and banned them from coming within 100 miles of Rome on pain of death.

Severus replaced the old, largely Italian-born guard with soldiers from his own, Danube-based, battle-hardened legions.Expanding the size of the guard significantly up to roughly 15,000 men.

>>18425822
They probably killed more during the Crisis Of The Third Century and we don't know because history of that era is hazy at best. It sounds funny but it kind of makes sense, with the exception of a few worthies, nearly every emperor killed by them was either openly a piece of shit or he did something stupid like slashing the Guard's pay/rights/etc