Your Favorite Fire Emblem Charater. Period.

It was a hard choice but the adorable dragon has to be my favorite character. 2nd would go to bbygirl Veronica, of course. 3rd is big boi Draug. 4th is Linde. And 5th would be Anna.

Minerva. She’s a icon due to how strong she is. She was captured and forced to work against her own country’s interest and forced to do so by Michalis to protect Maria. Her resilience is iconic also. the pressure to ascend the throne and the stress of being controlled by her brother must have been tremendous. She’s also very badass with a sickass dragon, a giant axe, and a cool personality. She also cares so much for her Whitewings and Maria. Her dialogue in Warriors is 10/10, and it helps that she’s voiced by Cindy’s Robinson, which takes her badass-ness even further.

It's really hard to choose one because that means I'd have to compare across games. If I had to choose it'd have to be Alm. I'm someone who's usually bias towards the main character and think he's the perfect example of how one should be done. He stands out among the other characters, expresses emotions, boosts the characters around him, and all while still making me like Alm more than those around him. I think he's the most interesting and relate-able lord they've done and hope they do more main characters like him in the future. Which saddens me because they don't ever run him on banners :(

My favorite is Ike 'cuz he's hot.
If you want a legitimate reason, I like that he's not a typical FE Lord. He's not royalty. He just happened to end up becoming leader of a group due to unfortunate circumstances, and he wouldn't even want to be a leader if he felt like he didn't need to. But he does it because he's a good guy who does good things like combating racism and dealing with evil gods.

Runner-up is Anna. She's snarky. She's mysterious. She may actually be a god or something. Also, I have this bizarre subconscious gravitation toward redheads.

Owain, there's no question. He's my favorite character in the entire franchise. He's funny in a way that many people don't understand. He has a flair for the theatrics which is often times a completely lost language to many people, and the fact that his character is like this after coming from a time of death and ruin really says a lot about him. Wearing his Brand with pride and being a part of the Justice Cabal with Cynthia (and I think Morgan?) furthered his dramatics, and I love him for it.

Mia! I love her energetic not afraid to fight attitude but also would look out for any of the other Greil Mercenaries. Like with a PoR support with Ilyana where she looks after the fatigued Ilyana cause of one of her hunger spells. Also I like how she'll try to spar with most anyone that seems like they a decent fighter. And she's an amazing unit in both PoR and RD, especially in RD. It also helps that RD was my first FE game so she was my favorite unit from the beginning basically. Also helps that I have a bias towards liking to use female swordmasters, it's part of why Fir and Larcei are my favorite characters from their respective games. But overall Mia is by far my favorite!

Second goes to Micaiah, cause she's my favorite of the main characters from FE. Again part of this is RD bias, but I also like how her main goal is striving to help the people of Daein and doesn't care how the rest of the continent views her if it means saving her people. "If the rest of the world paints me as a beast to be reviled and hated, so be it."

It's a 3 way tie between mia,ayra and hana

My favorite character is always in flux between three guys: Owain, Ephraim and Lloyd, but I have to say I keep gravitating back to Lloyd. I can't quite say exactly what it is about him that makes me love him so much (unlike your absolutely amazing description of Caeda, I completely agree with you btw, she is one of the best written characters and her relationship with Marth is just so wholesome). Something about how despite knowing that what Sonia is doing is wrong and being suspicious of her, he can't bring himself to leave, because the Black Fang is his family. His father is still there, Linus is still there, he needs to protect his family no matter what. It makes his conversation with Nino just all the more heartbreaking. I admire his dedication to those he loves so much, how even when Nino comes to fight him, he refuses to hurt her (unlike Linus). He even tells her she needs to end him and move on. Ahh this probably sounds like a super messy explanation, but I hope I could get some part of my reasoning across.

Writing this just makes me pray for a Blazing Blade remake where we can save the Four Fangs >_<

Ayra. I've always liked the strong swordswoman archetype. Her personality is a plus, and she honors her word. After her would be Zelgius and Haar.

Lucina. I really enjoy the enigmatic personality she puts on initially, but I love what she stands for as a warrior trying to prevent her apocalyptic future from coming true by standing alongside the people who would shape her future. I also like the bond she has with Chrom, and greatly exemplifies how powerful family bonds can be.

Robin, specifically female Robin. Yes, Awakening’s self-insert avatar. I first became attached to her because I loved playing her in Smash 4, which is what got me playing Fire Emblem in the first place. So Robin was my gateway character, and she is still my favorite. She’s a female character who everyone in the story comes to look up to, not just because she’s a protagonist and the story demands it, but because she actually earns it. She’s an incredible tactician who is able to make hard decisions while still inspiring respect from those around her. Her life hasn’t been easy but she doesn’t let that stop her. She is my feminist role model and I love her for it.

Second place...maybe Lucina? I’m not gonna overthink it too hard because otherwise I’d come up with a million people and we’d be here all day.

Minerva.

Oh no, one of the hardest choices I will ever commit to!

The number one spot is shared, if I’m honest, between Reinhardt and Legion. I can’t outweight one with the other.

Reinhardt is a well written tragic villain whose story makes you sympathize with him just as much as Olwen. His liege forced to disown him, his sister having rebelled... all of it weighing down on his soul, but yet he forces himself to fight, knowing full well he will die. Even after Ishtar discharges him, he remains loyal to her, and his duty. He knows his country is wrong, but without the people he cares for, what does he have left? I admire how his character was handled and he is a lot more than just a generic sad villain. You know that even if Reinhardt had won that final battle, it wouldn’t have meant anything to him, and that’s why it’s only fitting he dies to Leif. Plus he’s cute and I love how attached he gets to the summoner, especially with how Swordhardt mutters “You /are/ good...” when you select him to move.

Legion. I confess, of the two, Reinhardt is better written, but in this case the lack of story behind Legion is in his benefit. Legion’s only known traits are he can clone himself, he’s an orphan trained into a killer by Eremiya, he speaks in an odd fashion and his mannerisms reflect a child in a man’s body. The signs of his abuse are much cleaner than Katrina’s or Clairesse’s, and without much you can tell that Legion deserved so much better than he was given. I love Legion so much, even with his lack of writing, and I feel he’s very much a character you want to feel for because of his past.

So yeah, Legion and Reinhardt.

Gheb because he’s hot.

My most favorite character is Tiki. Her sad backstory of being constantly put to sleep due to her tremendous power, her childish attitude can prove to be cute. I also like how we get to see her fully grown up in Awakening too, although shes more calm, quiet, mature, and sleepy, she still retains that childish aspect of her, like in her Say'ri support. Although its sad that she always feel lonely at times due to the fact that she'll always outlive the people that she befriended, and yet she still remembers them, even after centuries of their death, like Marth for example. But that still doesn't stop her from befriending people and being happy.

Probably Cormag and Glen from SS. The conversation if you use Cormag against Glen is as good as it gets.
After that would be a combination of Lloyd, Linus, Nino and Jaffar. Their story together is great.
And then after that would be Ephraim and Hector. And Dorcas. And Raven. And...

In no particular order...

Jill: a secondary character who has a legitimate side arc where she displays significant growth. She starts off as a racist jerk, but if you make the right choices, the same traits that made her such a pain in the butt are the same ones that make her a fiercely loyal ally.

Lute, aka xx_l00t_xx: I'm just waiting for a sunglasses accessory to put on her.

Soren: Someone give the guy a hug...

L'Arachel: The archetype of the over-zealous seeker of justice just makes me laugh.