Is a Publisher an Author’s Best Friend, or their Worst Enemy?

This is a surprisingly nuanced question to answer Cases where a Publisher is Worse than your Worst Enemy If the Publisher takes money from you to Publish, does not invest anything of their own, and adds no value If the Publisher encourages you to spend a lot, and focuses your spending on things you don't need, such as printing 5000 copies of your hardcover which are going to spend all of eternity...