It's hard to articulate, but it's that classing of a worthy foe or something. Like people say "say what you will about x but he does y good" (something said by someone about Rommel by Patton (at least in his movie))in a way that's meant to sound begrudging but just makes them sound like they want to be them if you get me
Witness it once in a blue moon
my hot take is that there's not many individuals that they consider "people", so...given that they some of those extraordinary individuals still clasify in their "ranking of subhumans" but are so different to their stereotypes, they're seen as "opponents"