Given that "demon" is such a broad term in real-world mythology and religion, there are inevitably many different interpretations and forms of the beings. They were included in D&D right from 0E, where they are listed simply by a numbered type, increasing in power from one to six. Alternative names are provided in 1E, which become the standard names from 2E onwards. Notably, 2E also tried to pretend that they weren't really "demons", lest that offend anyone religious, and described them instead using the invented word tanar'ri. 3E switched back to "demon" again, explaining that the "tanar'ri" were merely a common subtype; the latter term has largely been deprecated since. 5E restored the numbered type sequence, but only as rarely-used categories of increasing power so that, for example, chasme mosquito-demons are now another example of Type 2 demons, alongside the original hezrou.The six core types of demon advance in power in a less regular pattern than most other ranked creatures (such as dragons). Notably, some of the higher-ranked ones are less physically powerful than their inferiors, relying instead on more potent magic. Only one of the six has any obvious antecedents, although some do at least have a physical resemblance to mythic beings.
Hezrou
The hezrou is described in 1E as appearing toadlike, but this is really only true of the hindlegs and the torso, and the skin does not appear as warty as one would expect in a real toad. While the shape of the jaws is broadly toadlike, they possess a series of sharp teeth, whereas true toads are toothless. The eyes are small and perhaps reptilian in look and there is a series of triangular plates rising from the back of the head, and possibly running down the back. Just as the 2E vrock looks more vulture-like than other versions, the hezrou in that edition also becomes essentially a bipedal toad with greatly elongated fingers, albeit one with teeth and a frill of bony spines.
By 3E the hezrou has changed to something more obviously demonic, and although the text insists that it still looks like a toad, it's hard to see how from the picture (although the feet are out of shot, and may indeed have the elongated batrachian form). There are now three rows of spines on the back, and various other spines and carbuncles on the skin, the eyes and nose are ape-like and it has a double row of teeth (said to be blunt, but they don't look it). The build is much heavier than the spindly-limbed form of 2E. It's also lost its swimming speed, suggesting that it's far less amphibious. The 5E form melds features of the first and third editions, with a triple row of back spines and a bulky build, small eyes and a mammalian-looking snout above a wide maw with a single row of reptilian teeth. The feet are digitigrade, but not froglike, and it seems to have only four digits on each hand, and perhaps just three on the feet.
These variations, as for those of other demons, can easily be put down to the creatures being magically formed from chaotic forces, rather than the result of genetic heredity - they could all be perfectly accurate in the D&D universe without representing meaningfully different subtypes. Other properties are likely more consistent. In 1E, the hezrou is more or less 'one step' above vrocks in terms of physical power and magical resistance, although it's equally stupid and has few special abilities beyond telekinesis and extinguishing light sources. By 3E, they are more intelligent than humans, although, despite the heavier, more muscular build, they are actually less strong. That's reversed in 5E, while the intelligence drops back to 1E levels (equivalent to an ogre), leaving it stupider than the vrock.
Hezrou only gain their signature power in 2E. This consists of a foul stench emitted by glands on their warty skin. While this isn't true of actual toads (and the hezrou isn't "really" an amphibian in the sense that, say, a bullywug is), it's probably inspired by the ability of toads to secrete alkaloid poisons and is the sort of thing that would be biochemically plausible even if they weren't demons.
Glabrezu
While toadlike demons don't seem like much of a stretch, the glabrezu has no obvious antecedents outside of the game. In 1E they have a basically humanoid torso and limbs, although they probably lack genitalia. The arms end in long grasping pincers, while an additional set of limbs with human-like hands project forwards from the upper part of the ribcage. How these would be attached skeletally is not obvious; there might be a socket in a modified rib or a more complex muscular attachment, although, either way, mobility is likely to be reduced in comparison with more conventionally located arms. The head is doglike with horns and bat-wings where the external ears should be (these are probably not great for focussing sound, but they don't really need to be).
The 2E glabrezu has a head that resembles a greyhound more than a mastiff. More significantly, the pincers are smaller and barbed, the horns have entirely vanished, and the creature now has a long and narrow tail. The lower pair of arms emerge from just in front of, and only slightly below, the upper set, implying that both are somehow attached to a single pectoral girdle - probably by musculature and tendons rather than a bony joint in the case of the lower pair. In 3E, the horns are back and the tail has gone, with the ears being reduced to fluted pinnae rather than a looking like miniature limbs themselves. The lower arms are back to the original position, and the upper ones end in heavy bony shears rather than narrow pincers. The lower limbs are digitigrade and doglike, and seem to have a pelt of thick fur.
The shears are retained in 5E, while the lower limbs - ending in four-fingered hands for the first time - are positioned further back, allowing for the possibility of a second pectoral girdle partway down the ribcage. The horns have a different shape, and the pinnae are even more like those of regular ears, having entirely lost the winglike form. The feet have even larger claws than in 3E and have a reptilian form, while the head no longer looks especially doglike. There are numerous spines on the body, including a curious set of plates over the shoulders that are presumably formed from dermal bones (these appears in 3E, too, although it's less clear there whether or not they're intended to be manufactured armour rather than part of the body). It's also much clearer that the glabrezu does, indeed, lack genitals.
Initially, glabrezu have exactly the same degree of physical superiority over hezrou as the latter do over vrocks, showing the usual stepwise progression of 1E. This is less clear in later editions, although some of it still remains by 5E, with each having one extra point of armour and two extra hit dice. Intelligence increases relatively steadily; the original glabrezu had normal human intelligence, which increases in 3E to keep them ahead of hezrou and vrocks, and becomes superhuman by 5E - probably to explain its skill in magic. Spells aside, however, its only special attacks are physical and, in this respect, it doesn't change so much between editions.
Nalfeshnee
In 1E, "Nalfeshnee" is the personal name of a specific Type IV demon, not a term for its race, since no such term apparently exists. The same is true of the two higher categories, but it seems as if few players noticed this qualification, and it's scrapped as soon as we reach 2E. So, ditching the number and sticking with the name, we can say that nalfeshnees are said to have a combination of apelike and porcine physical attributes. In 1E, they have a bipedal gorilla-like body and face, with cloven hooves (although the legs are not otherwise particularly boar-like) and small bird-like wings on the shoulders. They do have boar-like ears, but otherwise, that's as far as it goes. The 2E version is less hairy, with pronounced tusks in the lower jaw and a snout, albeit one that does not end in a boar's nose-disc. They also have a long tail, that resembles nothing seen in either apes or pigs - but then, they are demons.
The 3E and 5E images, however, do present a consistent depiction. The body and limbs remain as before , but the head has a jutting jaw with tusks that are almost elephant-like. Additional horns arise from the cheekbones and chin; since this is a demon rather than anything remotely "natural", we don't need to speculate what these might be for, although the main tusks probably would be useful in combat (although for goring, not biting, as the stat block suggests).
In some respects, the nalfeshnee is less physically powerful than the glabrezu, and perhaps even the hezrou, in 1E, although it is a more highly skilled fighter. It's slightly more intelligent than the average human, which shoots up to truly superhuman levels with 3E, before dropping slightly in 5E while still remaining just beyond the regular human maximum. Orginally, it has powers of illusion alongside the more typical telekinetic abilities of 1E demons, but these are switched to other magical powers in 3E, and gone by 5E. Unlike the hezrou and glabrezu, it retains the ability to cause fear in those that observe, although the details of how it manages this change.
Marilith
The representation of the marilith is unusually consistent compared with the other core types of demon. They resemble some real-world images of nagas, having a six-armed female human body from just above the hips and a very long snake-like body and tail from there on down. The snake body lacks the belly scales of most real world snakes in 1E, and varies in colouration but otherwise the only real change is how far down the sides of the body the arms reach (which, in turn, likely reflects their freedom of movement). Typically, the lowest set is about level with the base of the ribcage, but in 2E it's lower down, implying more bones in that part of the body than humans possess. The image in Planescape, which shows her from behind (probably because she isn't wearing even a bikini top) confirms that each set of limbs has its own pair of shoulder blades and hence, presumably, clavicles.
Other than the extra limbs, the humanoid part of the body looks like that of a normal, youngish, human woman, albeit one that would stand about 9 feet (275 cm) tall if she had legs. The exception here is in 3E, where the serpentine colouration, and possibly the scales, continue over the whole of the head and body and, although we're told the result is "attractive", the face has a snub nose and pointed ears, and there are bald patches on the scalp. The 5E version also has pointed ears, and dark green hair, matching the colour of the scales on her lower body.
The 1E version (in which, of course, "Marilith" is the personal name of one particular individual) is physically weaker than a glabrezu but is much harder to hit, probably because she's supposed to be remarkably agile as well as having some degree of supernatural resilience - despite not wearing anything but jewellery, she's much harder to injure than a human in full plate armour, or even a red dragon. She's notably intelligent and relies on magic as much as on her combat skills. In 3E, she's superhuman in almost every respect, being as strong as a fully-grown green dragon with intelligence and agility at or slightly beyond the human maximum. This is toned down in 5E, but she's close around the human maximum for most traits, and retains the genius intelligence. By this point, each category of demon does, indeed, have more hit dice than the one below it, making those at the top of the tree more relatively powerful than they were before.
Apart from the ability to teleport, mariliths don't have any supernatural signature ability. They are, however, fully ambidextrous (polydextrous?) with all six limbs and have abilities related to a very high reaction speed and complex coordination that would likely require a complex brain were they purely biological.
Balor
We are told in 1E that only six demons of this type exist, with Balor himself being the most powerful. After "balor" becomes a name for the category, rather than an individual, the number increases to 24 in 2E, and isn't mentioned thereafter. In Celtic mythology, Balor was the leader of the formorians, and a race of evil semi-divine giants, but the D&D monster seems to have no resemblance or connection with him beyond the name. Instead, balors seem to be inspired more or less directly by the balrogs of Middle Earth, with which they clearly have a lot in common.
The 1E balor has a roughly humanoid body with clawed feet and a large pair of wings behind the arms. The face has heavy brow ridges, tusks in the upper jaw, and hair only in a strip down the centre of the scalp. The wings appear to be more pterosaur-like than bat-like, formed by only a single finger, although the trailing edge of the wing membrane is scalloped, which might imply other skeletal structures we can't see. The body is much more apelike in 2E, before shifting back to a muscular red-skinned male human in the later editions. The head is elongated in 3E, but a more typical shape in 5E, although all editions from 2E onwards have it appearing at least somewhat apelike and lacking the prominent tusks of 1E. The 2E version is the only one to lack horns.
The shape of the wings also changes, even within the same edition, supporting the suggestion that, being fundamentally chaotic, demons of a given type don't always have a consistent form. They are batlike in 3E and 2E Planescape, but in 5E are supported by additional bones or cartilagenous struts branching off from either end of what's probably the radius bone. The 2E Monstrous Manual version is the strangest, skeletally resembling the wing of a pterosaur, but with the patagium covered, or perhaps replaced, by an array of rectangular scales. It's hard to tell in 1E, but all other versions of the balor show it wearing a loincloth or kilt-like garment, suggesting that, unlike other most other demons, they do have something to conceal down there.
In 5E, balors have a strength between that of fire and cloud giants, despite being much smaller; it's clearly magically boosted. They are also superhumanly intelligent, although that probably reflects resistance to certain mind-affecting spells more than it does, say, ability at arithmetic or puzzle-solving. Their fiery powers (one presumes that only they can activate their whips, for instance) are clearly related to their abyssal natures.
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