I think he was trying to kill him without much doubt.
It's just, the fact that he did so by turning around and stabbing backwards shows he really, really wasn't worried about Savage being able to stop him or do anything about it. Not as a matter of speed- when backing up Maul he was useful- but Savage simply lacked the finess and skill to defend.
Originally posted by Q99
It's just, the fact that he did so by turning around and stabbing backwards shows he really, really wasn't worried about Savage being able to stop him or do anything about it.
True enough, and when he blasts Maul away leading up to that part, he deactivates his lightsaber and dodges like 3-4 of Savage's swings. Add that to that fact that when Savage bull rushes him at the start and rams into him and Sidious just rolls with it and pulls them down after him with a big smile on his face and yeah, I doubt he was worried at all.