To give some more detail to my picks:
1. Kit Fisto’s always been my favourite Jedi; it’s a combination of his cool design, personality and abilities. He may not have the most focus of any character, but he combines a likeable personality with the skill to back them up (the sole Star Wars fan-theory I subscribe to is the one that turns a gaffe made in the Mace Windu/Palpatine duel into proof that he survived). If I had to pick a favourite character, it would probably be him.
2. Embo’s a slightly more recent favourite for me but he’s definitely still up there, both as my favourite Bounty Hunter and as probably my second favourite character overall. Apart from Grievous, he’s the only non-force sensitive character I can think of that could reasonably take on a Jedi without the aid of any gadgets apart from his hat (feel free to fill me in on any others though). The fact he has a pet dog/Anooba called Marrok doesn’t hurt either, and for me he comes as part of the overall “package”!
3/4. In the same way that for other people the OT or PT resonates most with them as the Star Wars they most associate themselves with, for me, The Clone Wars is *my* Star Wars, and so my equivalents of Luke/Leia/Han etc are Ahsoka and Rex. Of all the “main” characters they probably get some of the most development (which I recognise a significant proportion of such stems from the fact they got a seven series tv show to do it in whereas the others had to make do with just a trilogy of movies). Really, I would have probably ranked them both equally, but given the necessity of the ranking, I stuck Rex above Ahsoka as an acknowledgement to the sheer batsh*t insanity of Dee Bradley Baker’s voice acting for all the Clones (voicing every single one of them and giving them all unique but still recognisably the same voice, in a series called The Clone Wars no less, is nothing short of incredible). If I had to pick my favourite major Star Wars character(s) it would be these two.
5. Vader might be the most iconic and definitive Star Wars villain (possibly movie villain in general) but for me at least, Thrawn has to be the best, if you can separate such things. In terms of how he’s written and the threat he poses, I would say he goes far beyond the others, and is the one that’s most likely to make you want to root for the bad guys. It has been explicitly stated that had he not been indisposed before the main part of the Galactic Civil War, the Empire would have won. I have still yet to read the original Thrawn trilogy - I generally like to stick to Canon stuff with my Star Wars consumption, and although I am aware that there are many strong parts of Legends, it is still a very mixed bag from what I’m aware and the Canon continuity just feels so much cleaner - the advantages of having a dedicated story group to ensure cohesion. However, from his portrayal in Rebels and Timothy Zahn’s new trilogy, he has already won me over as my new favourite villain.
6. Thrawn is probably the best villain and is definitely my favourite, but there’s still very much a strong argument for Maul being the coolest. His participation seems to be almost a defining trait of all the best lightsaber duels in Star Wars, and despite only making an appearance in the later seasons he can also be debatably seen as the main villain of The Clone Wars, making him my equivalent of Darth Vader. Furthermore, if I had to nominate one Star Wars actor for an Oscar/Emmy/BAFTA etc, it would probably be him and Baker, with him having the advantage of a single character to base it off.(somewhat ironic for a character whose original appearance gave him about three lines). Sam Witwer’s acting is easily up there with the best in the franchise, and is a huge part in changing from a kind of cool looking duel and die villain into definitely one of the most nuanced villains of the franchise.
7. Of all of my choices, Obi-wan probably needs the least description; I would say all of the cool parts of him are self evident given his presence on pretty much everyone's list. Of all of the main movie characters he is my favourite, and Ewan McGregor, James Arnold Taylor and Sir Alec Guinness’s portrayals are all spot on.
8. Doctor Aphra has got to be one of the best new characters introduced in the new Canon. Along with her droid companions she’s probably the most “obscure” of my main picks, but that doesn’t stop her from being a very interesting protagonist and having a very strong argument for her and her supporting cast being the funniest thing in Star Wars at the moment. I would highly recommend checking her series’s out - she’s introduced in Marvel’s Darth Vader before getting her own self titled series, all of which is well written and hilarious (funnily enough, the author of both - Kieron Gillen - is currently the writer in the new upcoming Marvel 40k comic, which if it’s at the same quality as the others, will definitely be worth checking out, even if it is about the Smurfs).
9/10. 0-0-0 and BT-1 are my other “obscure” pick and are from the same series’s as Aphra. They should really be a single choice in the same vein as C-3PO and R2-D2, but splitting apart makes my life easier. There isn’t too much to say about them that hasn’t already been said about Aphra, but the best way to describe them is C-3PO and R2 if they were a pair of psychopathic homicidal murderers. Good, wholesome fun!
As for my honourable mentions: Plo Koon and Shaak Ti are my other two favourite Jedi, and Sugi and Bossk my Bounty Hunters. Yoda and Vader are iconic enough characters to need no description, and while both Padmè and Leia are good characters, I think Padmé (Catherine Taber not Natalie Portman) would be easier to get along with. Hera Syndulla is kind of indicative of the whole Rebels cast - if I had to pick a favourite it would probably be her but really they should all be on there. Mister Bones is another obscure pick - probably the best of the “novel exclusive” characters introduced in the new Canon, because what’s not to love about a singing dancing murder droid?!
"HELLO. I AM ENJOYING THIS HUG, TOO. HUG HUG HUG. A HUG IS LIKE VIOLENCE MADE OF LOVE."
And now, you may enjoy the precedent I have set for overly long descriptions of the characters we’ve picked!
