[12] Within the series, Baird is depicted as a comic relief character and a mechanical genius who is very well-versed with technology, but also possesses an abrasive arrogance with a sarcastic tongue.

[6] Bissell and Auten explained in an interview with IGN that Baird is a rich kid who always wanted to be a mechanic and loves tinkering with machinery and robotics, aspirations his wealthy parents disapproved of.

The dark and dingy design of his laboratory is contrasted with the polished halls of the building it is housed in, reflecting his personality differences with the politicians and government members of the COG.

In Gears of War 3 Baird helps repair the Hammer of Dawn, a solar energy-based superweapon instrumental in fighting the Locust Horde, and succeeds in doing so.

Baird appears as the main character in Gears of War: Judgment, where it is revealed that he previously held the higher rank of lieutenant and was the leader of Kilo Squad.

After using a weapon known as the Lightmass Missile to try to kill General Karn, Baird was put on trial for his actions and while the charges were ultimately dropped, Colonel Loomis demoted him to private and destroyed any chance of him becoming a commissioned officer again.

He reveals to J.D., with whom he shares an antagonistic relationship, that he had been monitoring him and his friends from behind the scenes in order to protect him from COG leadership for deserting; in this manner, Baird was secretly responsible for helping JD, Del, Kait and Oscar Diaz escape Jinn's forces during a settlement raid earlier in the game.

He plays a larger role in Gears 5 as he provides tactical and technical support for the reformed Delta Squad and their allies in their war effort against the Swarm and spearheads the mission to restore the Hammer of Dawn behind Jinn's back with the help of Garron Paduk.

[22] Rus McLaughlin from VentureBeat called Baird "a sentient dick move" and described him as an unpleasant character who serves as little more than comic relief, in spite of his considerable intellect and competence.

[24] Several reviews for Judgment commented on the different nature of Baird's interactions with the squad he leads compared to the camaraderie in the original trilogy, and discussed the player's discretion to replay an alternate series of events in flashbacks as Declassified mission sequences, which are then retold in the testimonies provided by Baird and rest of his squad as a form of branching narrative and gameplay variety.

[22] In September 2019, Tyler Fischer from Comicbook.com reported on trending tweets which pointed out the similarity of Baird's appearance in Gears 5 to that of professional wrestler Bill Goldberg.