diff --git a/src/Selenium2Library/base.py b/src/Selenium2Library/base.py
index 71344c0e7..07dbda94b 100644
--- a/src/Selenium2Library/base.py
+++ b/src/Selenium2Library/base.py
@@ -30,20 +30,16 @@ def warn(self, msg, html=False):
     # TODO: Move logic in elementfinder.ElementFinder but keep method as proxy
     # in LibraryComponent class
     def element_find(self, locator, first_only=True, required=True, tag=None):
-        if isinstance(locator, basestring):
-            elements = self.element_finder.find(self.browser, locator, tag)
-            if required and len(elements) == 0:
-                raise ValueError(
-                    "Element locator '{}' did not match any elements.".format(
-                        locator
-                    )
-                )
-            if first_only:
-                if not elements:
-                    return None
-                return elements[0]
-        elif isinstance(locator, WebElement):
-            elements = locator
+        if isinstance(locator, WebElement):
+            return locator
+        elements = self.element_finder.find(self.browser, locator, tag)
+        if required and not elements:
+            raise ValueError("Element locator '{}' did not match any "
+                             "elements.".format(locator))
+        if first_only:
+            if not elements:
+                return None
+            return elements[0]
         return elements
 
     # TODO: Move logic in elementfinder.ElementFinder but keep method as proxy
diff --git a/src/Selenium2Library/keywords/browsermanagement.py b/src/Selenium2Library/keywords/browsermanagement.py
index b23f28e02..60411d4ee 100644
--- a/src/Selenium2Library/keywords/browsermanagement.py
+++ b/src/Selenium2Library/keywords/browsermanagement.py
@@ -640,7 +640,7 @@ def _create_remote_web_driver(self, capabilities_type, remote_url, desired_capab
 
         desired_capabilities_object = capabilities_type.copy()
 
-        if type(desired_capabilities) in (str, unicode):
+        if not isinstance(desired_capabilities, dict):
             desired_capabilities = self._parse_capabilities_string(desired_capabilities)
 
         desired_capabilities_object.update(desired_capabilities or {})
diff --git a/src/Selenium2Library/keywords/tableelement.py b/src/Selenium2Library/keywords/tableelement.py
index 5a039edb6..e9647cc34 100644
--- a/src/Selenium2Library/keywords/tableelement.py
+++ b/src/Selenium2Library/keywords/tableelement.py
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 from Selenium2Library.base import LibraryComponent
-from Selenium2Library.locators.tableelementfinder import TableElementFinder
+from Selenium2Library.locators import TableElementFinder
 from Selenium2Library.robotlibcore import keyword
 
 
diff --git a/src/Selenium2Library/locators/customlocator.py b/src/Selenium2Library/locators/customlocator.py
index 6f68752d7..fdf2c716e 100644
--- a/src/Selenium2Library/locators/customlocator.py
+++ b/src/Selenium2Library/locators/customlocator.py
@@ -1,6 +1,12 @@
 from robot.libraries.BuiltIn import BuiltIn
 
 
+try:
+    basestring
+except NameError:
+    basestring = str
+
+
 class CustomLocator(object):
 
     def __init__(self, name, finder):
diff --git a/src/Selenium2Library/locators/tableelementfinder.py b/src/Selenium2Library/locators/tableelementfinder.py
index 32496c008..f12c7b028 100644
--- a/src/Selenium2Library/locators/tableelementfinder.py
+++ b/src/Selenium2Library/locators/tableelementfinder.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-from .elementfinder import ElementFinder
 from Selenium2Library.context import ContextAware
 
+from .elementfinder import ElementFinder
+
 
 class TableElementFinder(ContextAware):
 
diff --git a/src/Selenium2Library/utils/__init__.py b/src/Selenium2Library/utils/__init__.py
index f43c24c57..4d47e3093 100644
--- a/src/Selenium2Library/utils/__init__.py
+++ b/src/Selenium2Library/utils/__init__.py
@@ -1,10 +1,8 @@
-from . import events
 from .browsercache import BrowserCache
 from .librarylistener import LibraryListener
 
 
 def escape_xpath_value(value):
-    value = unicode(value)
     if '"' in value and '\'' in value:
         parts_wo_apos = value.split('\'')
         return "concat('%s')" % "', \"'\", '".join(parts_wo_apos)