It WAS very apparent that Stefano wanted Hope to shoot him...his final revenge, he figured, as he was already dying, was old, incapacitated, and felt it was time to end it all. He talked of being tired of it all, etc. So, when given the chance, he pushed, yapped, taunted, finally, I believe, insulting Bo. He pushed her over the edge at last, which is why he was laughing, as she shot.
Stefano was an evil man, who wreaked havoc, misery on Salem, sparing no one. Everyone suffered at his hands, and just because he found it more difficult to get around as he aged and became more ill, doesn't erase any of it. Oh, he played chess with Chad, with Theo, was Nano to Johnny, yep, just like Marlon Brando in The Godfather. But all that did not erase what he did to his own daughter, to his son, Tony, and he never sought payback for what was done to Benjy. So much for family.
Not gonna list all that was done to john, Steve, Marlena, Kayla, Roman, Bo, Hope, etc. etc. Stefano has no sympathy from me, he was a nasty, vicious man. Too bad he did not disappear in the aftermath of the building being torn down.