First of all, why does "not a bloodthirsty sociopath" always = "pansy" to people? That's a 14-year-old's idea of ******ery and it's retarded. In D&D terms, those kinds of "Chaotic Evil" players are what we call "Chaotic Stupid" because they die very quickly due to their juvenile antics.
Secondly, I play my Sith as a neutral character, walking a path of balance. The inspiration for this path actually came from the idea of a ronin-like character. He's honorable and noble, but ruthless. He serves the Empire and the Sith faithfully, but is not needlessly cruel.
Thirdly, most "true Sith" (those who follow the Chaotic Stupid path) don't even understand the Sith Code they so blindly cling to.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion
Through passion, I gain strength
Through strength, I gain power
Through power, I gain victory
Through victory, my chains are broken
The Force shall free me.
However, these Chaotic Stupid Sith believe that if you don't embrace and indulge in every passion, every emotion, and every impulse, you're weak, a pansy, "Jedi-like" etc, not realizing that in so doing...they have broken their own code. The whole idea behind the Sith code is freedom through passions, ie: not shackling their passions like the Jedi do. However, these Chaotic Stupid Sith become, in turn, shackled BY their passions. They are a slave to their passions, pretending they are freed by them.
My Neutral-aligned Sith doesn't suppress his passions, but neither is he slave to them. His passions serve him, not the other way 'round.