I was just getting ready to circle back around and tackle this subject but you have done an excellent job.
Bravo.
And yes, the Knights Templar were the good guys.
They only became bad guys when some potentate type ran out of money and became very desirous of the Knights Templar banking system.
Seems they had a considerable amount of wealth in their system, in which the monied people could simply write a check, instead of carrying around large amounts of cash, gold, rubies, goats, etc.
So the avarice of the potentate type fella was all consuming and he rounded all of the Knights up on Friday the 13th(where we get the term from) and took em apart piece by piece, killing nearly everyone of them.
Thereafter lies and slander where foisted on their character and that is why people don’t think of them as good guys.
But, you would have to be pretty good guy to take Jerusalem back in the name of God, from the Moslem hordes who were doing everything they could to erase an evidence of Jewery in Israel, then called Palestine.
Further, you would really have to be a good guy to get a lot of really rich people, kingdoms, fiefdoms and countries to let you be their money managers.
Knights Templar = Good Guys.
Give this "potentate" a name, which he most certainly had. It was Philip II of France who did the deed, against Jacques De Molay and his bretheren.
Let the history be accurately completed...
the infowarrior