P.O.V. hierarchy

This is probably not universal for me, but I notice that in this particular story I've developed something of a priority on who holds the point of view in a given scene. Now that I've realized this fact, it's given me something to think about - and write about.

It goes something like...
Supporting characters > Minor antagonists > Main protagonist > Primary antagonist
A very short list - from the most likely to the least likely, usually in relation to who is present in the scene right now. Generally speaking, the second-rightmost present is the one whose eyes we're seeing it all through.

First, you've got all the minor folks, the support roles, and the victims of villainy, who hold on to the P.O.V. ball. Through their eyes and thoughts the reader gets to hear about their woes, about what's going on, and about these bad guys throwing their weight around. These early villains seem powerful and insurmountable.

Then the hero shows up. All mysterious and awesome, ready to aid the downtrodden and punish the wicked. And so we climb the ladder up by one rung, as the view switches to these minor petty lords and what have you: they're beginning to wonder, and doubt themselves, and fear. Through their eyes, the reader is introduced to the hero, and gets to see him perform, learn a little bit of him, but never truly to know him, maintaining his mystery.

Once these villains are dispatched, we drop back to the lower rung: the rescued civilians and the helpless peasants can now cheer on and wonder about this mystery fellow themselves. As he sticks around (if he does) and befriends these people, they get to learn more of him, pick up facets of his personality, hear his tragic backstory. Little by little, the main character is revealed to the reader.

Every once in a while we may get to see the story through the hero's eyes, when he's particuarly thoughtful or uncertain of himself, but it never really lasts... until the main antagonist enters the scene.

This guy is bad news. He's dark, and inscrutable, and intent on wrecking the lives of everybody for all time. He is unknown to us, and feared by us... and he evokes that same fear in everyone, even the hero. As these two titans clash, lesser people go to the sidelines, unable or unwilling to witness - and now we truly get to feel the hero's doubts, and struggles, and pains, through his eyes. We know him now, backstory and all, and we root for him - in essence, we are him, so of course we need to know what he thinks at all times.

When he wins, we will feel that too.

The thing I'm currently working on - Pirates of the Demure Sea - may be unclear at the outset on who the main villain even is: it has more than one character of equal status, power, and menace, each of whom might end up ascending as the ultimate threat once the other has been gotten rid of. But I'm going to follow the hierarchy outlined above, I think... planning to right now, at least. If I stick with it, it will provide you a clue.