He had his moments and at the end of the day he was still Snake but man, it sucked to see him going from a stoic hero carving his own destiny and wanting to create a better world to grumble grumble fuck everything i'm a pawn now.
Uhm when was Solid Snake not a pawn? In every single game he is part of (including MG1 and 2), he is always executing the agenda of either an agency, an organization or a person. He is kinda the epitome of a pawn and that includes even MGS2, where he thought he was in some kind of control and yet in reality he was played like a damn fiddle!
Basically all MGS protagonists were pawns in one way or another, the difference between Solid Snake and the rest of them is that he never lost hope, he never turned to the dark side, and he always believed that no matter how much he has to suffer he will endure it and he will keep fighting the good fight.
That is why Solid Snake, the inferior clone, who never met The Boss, was in fact closer to her "will" and her spirit than any of the other Snakes, even those close to her like BB. He was a pawn but he stayed true to his values and triumphed against all odds.