I remember those assholes from the later stages of Dragon Quest II... they were a pain in the ass... but! When it came time to leveling up for the final boss, they were indespensible chunks of XP.
... man, I haven't thought of these guys since ... well, I grabbed the Game Boy port of "Dragon Warrior I and II" and that came out in 2000, so, 25 years... feels like a lot longer.