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As the Joker is to Batman, Moriarty is to Holmes, so too are Pathfinders and their personal rivals locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse, cloak and dagger, destined to cross paths many a time, but until the time comes, never settle their scores. My Methodology to building these rivals is a matter of alignment, reputation, and affinities between the pathfinder and his rival, and vise versa.
Generally, rivals are normally opposed to the character in alignment, though some are on the same axis or are even of the same alignment. Then reputation, normally it is the same as the protagonist, though their circles might differ(batman being the Dark Knight, while the Joker is the Clown Prince of Crime). As a general rule, they share the same level, as any fight between the 2 should be challenging, as both are evenly matched. Then the final Important element being affinities. Affinities are the feelings that both share for one another. They don't have to match, but they can(so the joker might Hold an awe/respect for batman, but Batman holds the joker in disgust). these might have mechanical elements, like if you hold somebody in dread(like John Val John does with Inspector Javier) and as such suffers penalties to engage directly with such foes.
Any thoughts, or ideas on this, or even just your own experiences with rivals in the past.