I was under the impression the corprus and ash creatures were just a means of 'terrorism' being used to achieve his ends, and not representative of his actual goals.
Would I like to join Dagoth Ur? No. Would some of my characters like to join Dagoth Ur? Yes.
Think of it like the dwemer endeavor except Ur is determined to make everyone of his flesh first before trying.
but someone as deranged as ur probably did want to have zombies as his people.
I respectfully disagree. His intention was to allow his people to "touch the divine". While it's true that a number of his followers stopped in their progress at the ash zombie and ash slave stage, the intent was for initiates to ascend to higher levels. The dialog that was written for the Ash Priests and Ascended Sleepers show them to be more "lucid" than the ash zombies who are talking to the furniture.
This suggests to me that the "mindless zombies" are not the ideal that Dagoth Ur is aiming for, but the unfortunate result of not all of his followers able to handle the power that the Heart of Lorkhan bestows.
Hehe, just reading my post in the preview window for posting; Since my character sided with Dagoth Ur, and his is still alive and well in my game and fanfic, I tend to speak of him in the present tense, as that is my personal canon for Morrowind.