[Spoiler] Equalists' involvement with probending

or not by taking away bending from fire benders

Lawful Evil have rules. They have their own set of moral codes and follow them. They usually are in control and 'never leave things to chance, always hold the cards'. These are the types of villains that I usually find the most compelling. They have a sort of anti-hero vibe to them. Sometimes their moral codes are just perceived and they are really twisted so it's hard to always support them. I feel like these types value the means just as much as the ends.

Neutral Evil don't necessarily have a code. They are usually in it for their own good and will kill/do acts of evil on a case by case basis. They can plan ahead but it seems more typical that they don't.

Chaotic Evil doesn't have the capacity to plan unless it's to further the potential chaos. They are just there to 'watch the world burn'. Panic and chaos are their end goals.

I personally think that Amon is Lawful Evil. He has a specific goal (equality) and he moves within a carefully structured plan. Some elements don't go exactly the way he wants (Team Korra's infiltration of the hidden Sato factory) but for the most part things have been going exactly the way he wants. He also has rules. I imagine he wouldn't ever kill unless he had to out of defense. So far, his combat has been largely evasive and disarmament. He moves out of the way and then moves in close, not to deal an aggressive blow, but to take away their bending.

agreed. If they didn't know the game was rigged they wouldn't have played dirty with ice/rocks in water/headshots

Amon has used intermediaries before, there's no reason a henchmen couldn't tell them.

they could have been tipped anonymously.

They always toe the line, but they really didn't start going overboard until they knew the refs would call nothing on them. That was right at the end of the match.

Nonono. It says they've been long-reigning champions, implying they've been cheating for many tournaments. During this time they would have discovered how lenient the refs are, due to them being payed off by Amon for all these years. They would naturally explore how far they are allowed to cheat by themselves, without needing the knowledge that the refs are being bribed in their favour.

[Amon could have used a middle man, or to the wolf-bats "sponsor," who, judging by the previous match won by the wolf-bats, could have been "funding" them for a while using Sato's money. We have already seen Amon use a faceless henchman to manipulate things before like the factory worker who led Korra to Sato's trap.] (/spoiler)

I don't know if this is questioning why he is waiting or why doesn't he just not take it away at all so I will answer both. For why he is waiting: Amon doesn't want Korra becoming a symbol. The Avatar is already a pretty powerful symbol of hope for benders and if he were to take her bending away now then she would not only be a symbol of hope, but also of sacrifice. Korra's "untimely demise," as Amon put it, would fuel the benders making them rally behind her and Amon can't afford that in the early stages of the revolution. Now for why she must lose her bending: Korra being the Avatar makes her a great threat to Amon as she represents unity between the elements and she is supposed to be the most powerful bender in the world as she can master all four elements. This makes her a prime candidate for the unifying of the benders into one force to combat the anti-bending revolution, as right now they are fairly divided and weak making them unable to combat the organized and trained equalists. When the time comes that benders have lost all hope and can only look to Korra for guidance and unity Amon will then take her bending away to officially crush the last bit of hope benders have. This is meaningless though if Korra stops Amon before any of this even happens. :)

Did you see Tarlok rounding up innocent nonbenders? Stuff like that is going to create more Equalist supporters and polarize the two factions until there's noone left on the fence. Then he will take Korra's bending so that in the eyes of history, the Avatar will be remembered as a failure.

I imagine there would be some complications/revelations/insight into his plans if the Fire Ferrets won and he gave his preplanned speech and then took away only Mako and Bolin's bending. People would ask...'why didn't he take away the Avatar's bending?'

In effect, it may have the same effect as actually taking away her bending. The benders of the world may realize what a great threat Amon actually is and make a 'martyr' out of Korra just out of pure fear that their Avatar almost just lost her bending.

You're right. 'He would have to take Korra's bending away' is arbitrary and untrue, but 'He would have to deal with potential complications' might be a valid argument.

What a horrible picture