I am going to have agree with Apollo on this one and say that balance is need with "asshole" male characters! I am no expert writer and many would probably call me amateurish, but I do try to write my male characters with a balanced personality. To me, that makes the character much more believable than one that is just this way or just that way. If that made sense?
Example!
Alexander is a character I am developing in a story I am writing. He has a very asshole front to him. I mean, he can be blunt and cold. However, he is not really that way. He had a rough childhood and uses such extreme behavior to ward people off. Inside he is lonely, loyal, has a heart of gold, and truly is a nice guy, but due to past experiences, he is a bit harsh. He even dresses in a way that make people walk away from him instead of approach him. It is all a front to protect his heart. I guess that is his armor. His asshole nature.
I enjoy writing characters like that. Unless the character is just truly a extreme asshole and just evil to the core. Then it is a bit different. For example, Samuel, in the same story as Alexander, is a very sleazy, nasty person who is a grade A asshole. He is the kind of person most people do not want to be around or even screw. But, he is a bad guy in the story and I wanted to exaggerate his evil nature and the best way I know how is to make him into an uber asshole.
So, yes, I do believe in balance. I want my characters to seem like an asshole, but they not really. At least the good ones. For villains, I love them to be just the biggest asshole you could ever meet. I think these kind of characters make people happy in their dark places of their souls and dream about those rough around the edges guys and how manly they are. Then again, that might just be me. I guess the best example I can think of is Acheron from Kenyon's books. He can be an asshole, but it turns out he is very mushy on the inside. I love characters like that. I can't really explain why, but it is just something about that front those characters put on that catch my attention and intrigue me. Makes me really want to read the story and find out if they are truly that way or if they are using that as a front. I think that is why I love them. The mystery they hold.