Ideal Giant Robot Pilot

[lance]

It might have to do with Armuro, I hear he's pretty popular

[lord Martiya]

And extremely capable, once he got some experience: while in the initial battle a Zaku pilot could swat him around and he survived them (and Char) only thanks to his robot armor, after a very little while he could give Char's Zaku a run for his money, and after the last battle with Ramba Ral he was good enough to utterly kick the collective asses of the Three Black Stars (infamous for easily destroying anyone unlucky enough to get near their way), and at the battle of A Baoa Qu he could easily wipe out a dozen enemy MS at once without even trying (I recall he actually did it once, before destroying the two Musai and the Chiway that launched them) and managed to defeat Char, who by then was flying a superior robot.

[HeadCreeps]

I voted 1 and explained my reasoning earlier. I absolutely hate Amuro Ray from Gundam. At first I thought it was the English voice actor, but I watched the entirety of original through Zeta/ZZ/Char's counterattack subbed and still found the character offensive. Kamille Bidan is the same thing - if he's category 1, I hated him completely. I guess it's because I do like cat1 the most, but not when the character in question is a prick.

You did ask

Who do you want to protect your homes and families from the Monster-of-the-Week?

, though. Who in their right mind wants the whiny guy who is prone to AWOL and other issues to be their defender?

I specifically responded toward who I'd want as my main character instead. The more weaknesses a character has*, the more interesting the story is. Category 5 is less appealing because those characters tend to have few weaknesses and are only good for moving the actual main character along most of the time. I'm not the kind of person who just watches robot anime because it has robots going pew pew and ROBOT PUNCH and wow that was awesome because kablam. For example, I enjoyed Macross Plus, but the most appealing character was basically the female protagonist and the AI subplot because the main character was cat 5. I think I hit the same thing with a later Macross movie or something, but I struggled with the same cat 5 type of MC so much that I don't remember the anime at all. Come to think of it, wasn't that Roy Focker himself? Macross Zero maybe?

*-there is a limit to this, but my ceiling toward "whiny" is obviously much higher than other peoples'.

I guess above all, I do not look for a "capable" pilot. I do not want an idealized character. The character's kill count and ability to kill huge swaths of the enemy is irrelevant. I want a character who gives a crap that they're killing people and who doesn't spend all of his free time chasing women.

But to answer the question in the above quote, I'd want the main behind the scenes villain as my defender because his or her homeland is a lot less likely to be the epicenter of conflict if it wasn't already blown up before the story started. If nothing else, I can get the hell out of dodge with a little more breathing room.

[Bright]

For example, I enjoyed Macross Plus, but the most appealing character was basically the female protagonist and the AI subplot because the main character was cat 5. I think I hit the same thing with a later Macross movie or something, but I struggled with the same cat 5 type of MC so much that I don't remember the anime at all. Come to think of it, wasn't that Roy Focker himself? Macross Zero maybe?

Maross Zero is a five episode OVA. Roy Focker appeared as a mentor-ish supporting character. I wouldn't really say that the main character is the same kind of casual combat veteran though. His problem was just being a bit bland. I agree with you fully about Macross Plus though. I hated, hated, HATED the lame Top Gun reject that served as the protagonist. His foil and romantic rival was at least slightly interesting.

[Vendetta]

For example, I enjoyed Macross Plus, but the most appealing character was basically the female protagonist and the AI subplot because the main character was cat 5. I think I hit the same thing with a later Macross movie or something, but I struggled with the same cat 5 type of MC so much that I don't remember the anime at all. Come to think of it, wasn't that Roy Focker himself? Macross Zero maybe?

Isamu Dyson isn't a 5, he's a 4. A reckless showoff with a complete disdain for authority who eventually got parcelled off to be a test pilot so that his recklessness couldn't fuck up and get people killed in a real combat situation but his piloting skills could still be put to use.

[HeadCreeps]

Haha, yeah. Herp derp and all that. When I glanced at the options, I skipped right over that since I saw the guy as a combat veteran.

Similarly, Kamille Bidan is probably 2 moreso than a 1. "Kamille is a man's name, and I'm a man!" He's still a whiny bitch, though.