u/PetalPal4Life

Bishops/Saints/Exemplars, High Priests, Shrine Maidens, Grandmasters, Maids/Butlers and War Monks/Clerics all count here. Juggdral Bishops and Martial Masters technically also count, but none stood out to me. Flayn isn’t here because she’s the #1 dancer candidate and Marianne isn’t here because she has enough riding strength to warrant being a Holy Knight.

15. Ginny from Shadows of Valentia (very impossible to hate and is a healer that can actually fight back early)

16. Felicia from Fates (relatively likable, can fight back early, and can be powerful with a Flame Shuriken)

17. Claude from Genealogy of the Holy War (he’s the one who sees the truth and raises the dead. How could he not make it here?)

18. Jakob from Fates (a bit stern, but he’s really quotable and can fight back. Plus I feel a bit bad for him in Birthright. Why can’t he support Flora?)

19. Azama from Fates (He’s such a troll and the idea of a healer that’s actually an apathetic troll is fairly unique. I can see how some may dislike him but I just can’t)

20. Oliver from Tellius (On one hand, he may or may not have had a hand in the Serenes Massacre and definitely kept Laguz as slaves. On the other hand, he was a great midway villain in Path of Radiance and one of the funniest characters in Radiant Dawn)

21. Sakura from Fates (Another character that’s just really hard to hate for some reason. Plus I feel a bit bad for her in Conquest)

22. Mana from Genealogy of the Holy War (She’s a substitute character, yet somehow got a far more developed relationship with Celice than her canon counterpart. One of the few substitutes I prefer to the real thing)

23. Lyssa from Awakening (another very lovable healer. Not much more to be said)

24. Libra from Awakening (he went through a lot in life yet still finds it in him to uplift others. Plus I kind of relate to him in disliking but still wanting to help people anyway)

25. Lindhardt from 3 Houses (He never wanted any of this war or politic. He just wants to learn and sleep, and i respect that)

26. Yodel from the Binding Blade (a sort of positive mastermind who helped guide Roy’s later journey in addition to having some surprisingly great supports. Especially love his support with Niime)

27. Mercedes from 3 Houses (by far the most loveable character in the series in addition to being a potent healer. Also like her story with Jeritza)

28. Nyna from Archanea (by far the most memorable character in all Archanea. She lost everything and reclaimed her kingdom at the cost of her love and agency, then had a loveless marriage and had to watch someone she liked but couldn’t love spiral because of it. Debatably one of the most tragic characters in the series)

29. Renault from Blazing Sword (may not seem like much at first, but all his supports are top tier and tell a subtle story of loss, atrocity and redemption. Very deserving of a spot in the list of best side characters in the series)

Honorable Mentions include Silque from Shadows of Valentia, Aideen from Genealogy of the Holy War, and even Maria from Archanea. The most hated alternates between Serra from Blazing Sword for her personality and Lekain from Radiant Dawn for his action, but if one were to consider his class, appearance and personality from 3 Hopes as canon, then Gregori from 3 Houses would probably surpass both. If you saw the original Bernadetta B support, you’d know exactly why.

Before we begin, Elincia, Seraphic Knights, Harriers and Dark Fliers will also be counted here. Engage Falcoknights technically also count, but Chloe didn't stand out much to me.

10. Tana from the Sacred Stones (always gravitated towards her for some reason)

11. Palla from the classic games (always liked her personality for some reason, plus her and the other sisters are great to use in Gaiden)

12. Catria from Mystery of the Emblem (though I do slightly prefer Palla in terms of personality, Catria joins near the beginning in Mystery. Always like early join times for some reason)

13. Marcia from Tellius (Always a pretty fun character for me, not much more to be said)

14. Hinoka from Fates (folks like to make fun of her English voice, but I always felt bad for her in Conquest. Trained her whole life to save someone who ultimately joins the enemy anyway, then loses both brothers and gets thrown into a position she never wanted or trained for. She's good to use on the other two routes too)

15. Cordelia from Awakening (Honestly, I always have related to her. We both have the same flaws of perfectionism and having had one-sided love in the past. She's fantastic to play as too)

16. Florina from Blazing Sword (She's a lot like Fluttershy in terms of personality, and I like Fluttershy. Really tough to hate. Plus, she joins real early if you play Lyn's story and can potentially be an MVP if used right)

17. Clair from Shadows of Valentia (She's great to use, I love her way of speaking in the remake, and I do unironically feel like her and Alm make a better couple than him and Celica, at least in the remake)

18. Caeda from Archanea (I always interpreted her as having carried Marth's entire campaign between her having perfect availability and flying utility, a great personal weapon in the remake, and being the one to recruit the most people outside Marth himself. Not surprised he ultimately chose to marry her in the end)

19. Elincia from Tellius (Her story from war refugee to a bad*!@ savior who is debatably the best healer in the last few chapters to a strong but merciful queen capable of putting down rebellions is among my favorites in the whole series, and she remains a kind, loveable and rootable character throughout it all. There are even many times when I'd have her as number one overall)

Some honorable mentions include Cynthia from Awakening, Thany from the Binding Blade and Shigure from Fates. My most hated is actually Ingrid from 3 Houses as her personality is a perfect storm of a lot of the things I dislike in a person even if she's great in gameplay.