So, when you make your villains, don't play them as some dumb cardboard NPC that has mega power but nary an original thought on how to use it. Frontal assaults and standing still while heroes slaughter your minions are not wise moves. In fact, having your minions slaughtered in the first place isn't smart. Help is hard to find when your goal is not the best of intentions and the morale of the faithful won't be high when they figure out that the villain thinks of them as fodder. So, make you villain act as smart as they should be.
Villains are by definition evil people.
That means they are out for things THEY want and are not overly concerned with who or what they have to go through to get it. Power, be it intellectual, monetary, mystical or physical, is one thing a villain MUST have in ample supply. They use it to control others, making them do what is expected of them. Without plenty of power, his minions would probably do in the villain. Also, remember that the villain does NOT have to be the one seen wielding the power either, only the one controlling it and who does.