Every single fic I see, Syltherins who trade favors/play politics are always so transparently transactional. It's just, not how you manipulate people or gain advantages. If everything is an up front favor, then its always 1 for 1. It's trying to make a good guy out of an after school special villian.

The reality is, for the archtypical cunning Syltherin, there should be no visible difference than an archtypical super nice Hufflepuff. Because that's how you manipulate people. By being super likable, doing tons of things for the wider community, seemingly super down to earth and nice, it becomes super hard for people to deny you things. And when you do shady stuff, people accusing you sound like monsters. So where are the Syltherins being all super sympathetic towards everyone, setting up tutoring for first years, being wildly generous.

When Malfoy Sr buys the Syltherin team new brooms, a smart Syltherin would get their parents to donate brooms to the other 3 houses. Because who cares who wins at a school sport. Your family is now viewed as magnanimous and fair. Ambition also means the whole stick together in public makes no sense. You should in fact contradict anyone in the house who makes you look bad, especially if nearby ears hearing it would benefit you. If anything, it should be, don't take things said outside the house to heart. Because it's just politics. Think politicians, they yell at each other in public but then have polite dinners together.

Where are the Syltherins getting into wholesomeness culture to control the narrative and stop bad things said about them or their actions. Or the "I don't get into politics" types who aggressive pursue political things under the guise of not political activies. How about Syltherins who aggressively gift things to make folks feel uncomfortably like they owe them. Or folks who utilize a cause to steer it. I mean, truly the best way to keep muggleborns down would be to lead the pro muggleborn rights cause, but hamper it by asking for very little and always compromising. Hell, pull a fandom and keep house elf slavery by lying about how much they love it and making up stuff about them needing it to survive.

Also, give me some Syltherin women whose "ambition" isn't just finding a really rich guy to marry. That's not really ambition, especially when your already wealthy. Same with every Syltherin boy just wanting to become their head of house or whatever. That's not ambition, you were garenteed that when your dad didn't pull out.