George's control over Lennie

Something that stood out to me in part one and part two is the control George has over Lennie. In the beginning, I thought that George didn't like Lennie, but when Lennie offers to actually leave, we learn that George does like Lennie by his reaction. Lennie seems to really rely on George, " I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." Later on throughout part one we begin to realize Lennie probably had some sort of intellectual disability. In the very beginning of the book, we see George in some ways verbally abusing Lennie and making him fell much lesser than himself. Therefor, I think George has control over Lennie.