I have been reading for a while the literature of the Huthis and their origins and their inconsistent and a bit changing ideology. There are a lot of misconception. They can't be considered Shi`ite and they agree with the Zaydi regard for at least the first two rightly-guided caliphs (an important belief among Shi`ite twelvers), and they don't believe in the missing 12th Imam (a major tenants of the Shi`ite twelvers). They can be regarded clearly from a leftist perspective as a reactionary conservative movement. I find nothing to like about their rhetoric. Having said that there is a rule in Arab politics: no matter how much you hate a regime or a movement the Saudi regime will prefer a WORSE alternative to it, whether in Syria or in Yemen. They manage to produce a worse alternative always. Finally, the current alliance between the Huthis is and Salih (the former stooge of US and Saudi Arabia) is the worst kind of unforgivable opportunism).