I don't know, did he do that stuff out of the goodness of his heart or did he just like the fighting part?
I never watched it subbed because the voices are ridiculously awful, so I can't say how much the dialogue changing between sub and dub changed the character.
It's important to remember though, Toriyama is a shitty writer. He's very creative, and an amazing artist. But he sucks at writing and with his memory he may well have early onset Alzheimer's.
Viewed in English, he's your classic pure hearted shonen protagonist.
He also uses the Flying Nimbus in Super, which can only be used if you have a pure heart. So who knows =P