I recently re-read some of Thomas Harris' works, and I've come to understand his titular sociopath's curious morality, which Anthony Hopkins did well to reproduce in the movie versions of the books, at least those parts faihtful to the books.
I cannot speak as to the TV series version where Hannibal is portrayed by Mads Mikkelson, so this merely addresses the original version Harris wrote.
Lecter is a complex man with seemingly inscrutable qualifications for whom he considers worthy of respect, what he considers "rude", and when he will kill someone, but after analyzing the books carefully, it's obvious how to boil it down to make it simple for everyone to understand.
1. Lecter's hatred of rudeness follows a curiously logical progression. While he can tolerate rudeness if professional responsibility absolutely requires it (he accepts Jack Crawford's refusal to appeal to his ego as wise even though he obviously enjoys having an ego stroking, and Barney's impersonal treatment of him when security matters in the asylum also win his respect as Barney being appropriately prudent around him) and even respects it, he otherwise considers being an asshole a death sentence if you have no good reason for it other than spite.
This is rather hypocritical, he's not above such pettiness himself, but it clarifies why he's never wanted people like Crawford, Barney, or even (and especially) Clarice Starling dead on those grounds.
Whenever they had to be uncivil to him, it was always professionally motivated and never personal or petty. Given Lecter was a psychiatrist and his profession has an ethics of separating personal and professional he seems to have taken as his own morality (though not without some self serving reservations), this is a pretty logical and consistent moral of his.
It's also why people like Frederick Chilton and Will Graham got killed or maimed, with the former going out of his way to be petty and the latter earned Lecter's contempt because Graham was clearly trying to use him for his own purposes without respecting him, which is why all he does to Graham is try to get him killed in Red Dragon. Starling in the sequel makes a point of never forgetting to appease Lecter's ego while still never patronizing or insulting him, and while she does lie to him, it's on Crawford's behalf and done for strictly professional reasons, which he can understand and thus lets her off with some smarmy comments about the deceit but does little more.
2. Lecter's second rule is that if you never forget who he is, what he's capable of, and regard him appropriately, he will do the same.
Practically everyone who dies by Lecter's hand always underestimates Lecter in some manner for the most part. Chilton dies because he makes a point of this despite treating Lecter as the threat he deserves to be regarded as, not to mention Chilton's petty spite also earns Lecter's contempt because the security aspect aside, Chilton makes a point of treating Lecter with intellectual contempt, and Lecter's disgust with someone he rightfully considers a dunce is made incredibly obvious.
Barney, by contrast, was capable of civility and and regarding Lecter as the brilliant if twisted man he was, yet never forgot what Lecter was capable of even once. It's why he makes a point of giving Barney his fond regards as he gets transferred away from the asylum to Tennessee in The Silence of the Lambs, Barney showed him personal decency while giving him due professional prudence at the same time. This later is why Barney takes a hint when he sees Lecter at the end of the novel Hannibal and skips town and keeps his mouth shut when he sees Lecter in Buenos Aires, Lecter gave him a hint Rinaldo Pazzi missed earlier in the book, and while Lecter knew Barney realized who he was, he also knew Barney was prudent enough to let that knowledge stay to himself, hence why he lives.
3. Lecter will kill you despite his first two mentioned rules if your death is to his benefit.
As Barney aptly puts it in the novel Hannibal, he never forgot for an instant that if Lecter wanted him dead, Lecter WOULD kill him, no matter how well they got along.
It is for this reason Officers Boyle and Pembry die in Memphis despite their showing Lecter a reasonable amount of personal courtesy, they provided him an opportunity to become a fugitive again and he was going to end their lives to get it.
They also made a serious mistake relaxing security around him, a mistake Barney and even Chilton never would have made, a mistake he accurately foresees in advance would happen when he was no longer under Barney's eye.
Pazzi managed to not get killed despite Lecter clearly toying with doing so very soon after they meet because Lecter decided to give him the benefit of the doubt at the time, but as soon as they meet later after Pazzi agrees to sell Lecter to Mason Verger, Lecter realizes Pazzi knows who he is then, and Pazzi not calling rhe police on him was a fatal mistake for Pazzi because he not only showed Lecter contempt for not respecting how dangerous he was, he also ensured Lecter would have to kill him to save himself.
Insofar as the books and movies line up, the above tend to be very consistent in regards to Lecter's character and should serve as an effective baseline for evaluating Lecter's actions insofar as he has anything resembling a moral compass as a character.
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