I don't mind Gabiru because he is funny.

He's comedy relief done right. He's a lizard, surrounded by yes-menlizards, arrogant as shit, and his physiology is used to play it up even more. Long-nosed snooty character with their chin high in the air? Gabiru's chin points directly at the sky. Moronic expression of shock when surpassed? Their entire species seems to have it, naturally:


And they even cast Gabiru correctly. The actor is most well known for playing Satou Kazuma in KonoSuba. He's got perfect comedic timing down pat.

His character leads to great reactions like Shion crushing poor Rimuru, or the "Can I kill him~ <3" / "Sure!~ ;>" dialog.

But he's not a complete waste of space. Ranga comes out, and uses the same skill Rimuru did outside of the dwarf city in episode 4. Gabiru didn't flee, become confused, faint, nor soiled himself. So he does have some level of skill.