IMHO, the Kazon never really "worked" that well for me. They tried to differentiate them, but they really wound up just being the poor man's Klingons (and the similiar physical appearance didn't help).
That is pretty much how I saw the Kazons, as low-grade Klingons (having an incredibly bad hair day).
Have to say, I really liked how they got dissed later on in the series - when Seven told Neelix that the Borg classified the Kazon as not worth assimilation. When the Borg turn up their collective noses at your entire species, that says a great deal.