Here are my favorites of each series. But since there are usually at least two sides involved in the wars in the various TF series, I'll be picking my favorites from all sides.
The Transformers (Generation 1)In this 98-episode long series, there were tons and TONS of characters. Many and most of which were there with the sole intention of getting kids to buy their toys and merchandise, so not many had much characterization put into them that they developed further throughout the show. Meaning that many of these characters were static, having the same personalites with little-to-no changes throughout the entire show. Any such changes that may have occurred to them wouldn't have lasted for more than at least one episode (which was usually their spotlight episode). Therefore, this may be tough for me to choose my favorites of the G1 cartoon. However, by carefully picking them out from every character, I've narrowed it down to two choices.
For the Autobots, I choose Silverbolt: the Aerialbots' leader. He was a very uneasy guy at first, having a fear of heights and an uncertainty of his teammates accepting him as a part of their group, much less their leader (namely due to Slingshot's attitude influencing the others). Yet, he was the only one of the Aerialbots to trust humanity at first and to fully accept the Decepticons as being evil. As time went on, he grew from being a scared, nervous wreck to being a competent, capable leader.
For the Decepticons, I choose Cyclonus. Following the destruction of Unicron and the loss of Galvatron, the Decepticons had hit rock bottom, being left to rot and struggle for survival on the burned out planet of Chaar. But Cyclonus didn't give up on the Decepticons' potential. Even if Unicron had been his master and creator only moments (or years, in Japan's case) before, he developed a strong loyalty to Galvatron that set him out to retrieve their lost leader and help rebuild the Decepticon forces. He then stuck by his new master through and through, even looking after him and showing concern for Galvatron's well-being in times when Galvy's insanity would get he best of him.
The HeadmastersFrom here on out, picking charcters should be easier, what with character development and quality becoming more prominent.
For the Autobots in this series, I pick Fortress. While he may have been somewhat not as developed as someone like, say, Chromedome, he didn't start off as a Supreme Commander and had to grow into the title to be the leader that he became. Plus, I squee a little every time he turns into his Big Mode with the Master Sword.
Honorable mention goes out to Punch, for being far more fleshed out than his Rebirth counterpart and for playing such a vital role throughout nearly the whole series, including being a part in the ultimate downfall of Galvatron.
For the Decepticons, it's a no-brainer: Sixshot! The six-changing, Decepticon City Ninja Commander was just a hardcore character! A true warrior with bad, brooding streak. He was even directly responsible for the death and murder of the Autobot's City Commander Ultra Magnus! That's cold. Though, his coolness did waver a bit during the episode where he and Daniel...
*sigh* became friends (also known as the "Uncle Sixshot" episode). So much for cold ninja killer awesomeness.
But his coolness recovered when he began to get serious again and started to defy Scorponok's authority later on.
Super-God MasterforceFor the Autobots, I cannot pick just one. It's a three-way tie between Metalhawk, Ginrai, and Diver. Metalhawk was just a great leader, a great mentor, and an awesome warrior. He was originally just the leader of a team of four, but as more were added to his ranks, he took greater responsibilities as a commander, a friend, and a guardian to Shuta Go, son of his deceased friend, Professor Go. Ginrai wasn't someone you'd expect to find a hero in: An ordinary trucker living a solo lifestyle. But once he became a Godmaster, he took on greater tasks and greater responsibilities as he came to accept himself as an Autobot warrior. And after accomplishing so much, Hawk passed the title of leadership over to him. Having been thrust into his new role, and facing far greater challenges, Ginrai went on to become one of (if not
the) greatest of Earth's heroes. Diver, may seem like the oddball choice here, but he's got quite a lot of merit to him. Next to Hawk, he was also a great mentor to the Headmaster Juniors, and was probably the most active of all the Autobot Pretenders. He was very dependable, working close with Hawk even from the other side of the globe, and was the one who first discovered Ginrai to be an Autobot Godmaster. Honorable mention goes to Sixknight. Like Sixshot, he was just epic! He was a ninja six-changer and was the only fully robotic Autobot who was not at least partially human in some way. Though, he was very underused, only appearing in four episodes.
For the Decepticons, again I can't simply pick one. There were too many awesome Decepticons in this series, which makes it so hard to choose just one. So, this will be a
five-way tie between Overlord, Hydra & Buster, Wilder, and Cancer. Overlord was the coolest non-Megatron Decepticon leader ever! Well, technically he was the second-in-command, but Devil Z wasn't as active as he was, so yeah. Despite being a powerful evil foe, he had a sense of honor that enabled him to grow to repect his adversaries (particularly Ginrai) as worthy opponents and warriors. He was fully devoted to the Decepticon cause... until Devil Z changed his plans for world domination to humanity extinction. Overlord's devotion began to waver, as he couldn't fully go through with the plan of exterminating all humans (what with him
being two humans), but also couldn't betray his master, so he became torn between his loyalty and his morality. Hydra and Buster were the very definition of "villains". Truly malevolent humans with dreams for ascension beyond godhood and a thirst for power and glory. They even went as far as to give up their own humanity and becoming fully super robot lifeforms powered by Devil Z's Devil Power. Wilder was similar to Hydra and Buster at first: cold, brutal, and ruthless. He was a juvenile delinquent, a motorcycle gang leader who looked out for Number One and brought down the pain on his enemies. But, while he was loyal to the Decepticons, the feeling wasn't returned in the end, as both he and Bullhorn were left for dead in the crumbling base by the other Decepticons near the end. Though he was saved by the Autobots and accompanied them to later battles, he did not consider himself one of them. But, he was still able to find redemption in the end. Cancer was, arguably, the Decepticon with the most character development in this series. He wasn't a truly bad kid, just misguided and mistreated by others in his life. Having joined the Decepticons, he was like a typical "tough guy" who'd let no one into personal beefs. But as the series went by, he grew from this spiny misfit into a lighter person as he questioned the motives and morality of the Decepticons. In the end, he saw them for what they really were; a bunch of murderers, which he did not want to be anymore and wanted out, siding with the Autobots towards the end.
VictoryFor the Autobots, I guess I'd have to go with Victory Leo. Now, I may be cheating on this in a way, as he was originally Ginrai, but he was reborn in a new form with a different personality. He's quite an interesting character. Before he got to the point in the series where he served as nothing more than a "Magic Mushroom" for Star Saber to become Victory Saber, he was a very barbaric Autobot. He was a feral, violent, wild animal of a warrior who was also trying to keep a stable mind and maintain control over his temper and sanity. He may no longer have been the same being as Ginrai, but despite his wild nature, he was a key aspect in the Autobots' final victory.
For the Decepticons, it's not one that would be much expected: Kakuryu. One of the goofiest, funniest, and most-comedic Decepticons of them all, the child-like Kakuryu was a dim-witted buffoon who provided several comedic antics amongst his fellow Dinoforce members. He was the equivalent of Curly from the
Three Stooges, if Goryu were Moe. He was such a klutzy oaf that his catchphrase was none other than, "I'm sorry!" He was such a child, in that he would often drift off into his own little world at times, and would sometimes randomly start singing the lyrics to the show's ending theme for his own enjoyment
("Chinchinchin chichinpui, Chinchinchin chichinpui...") 
ZoneIt was only one episode and many characters were killed off. So, I didn't find a favorite on either side.
Beast WarsFor the Maximals, it's definitely not one character. It's a tie between everyone but Airazor. It's not that I don't like Airazor (I do like her), it's that I like everyone else more and they have all become favorites of mine. Optimus Primal for his leadership and understanding of his troops. Cheetor for his developmental growth and fun appeal. Rattrap for his wise-cracking and sarcastic personality. Rhinox for his valor, strength, and knowledge. Dinobot for his moral struggle and honorable conduct. Tigatron for his down-to-Earth understandings and respect for all things natural. Silverbolt for his chivalrous nature and moral standpoints. Depth Charge for his brooding attitude and serious nature. And Tigerhawk for... well for just being so epic!!!
For the Predacons, same thing. Everyone but Scorponok. Again, I like Scorponok and admired his loyalty to Megatron, but everyone else was just so much more interesting. Megatron for his charisma and villainous brilliance. Tarantulas for his mysterious nature and self-centered agendas. Terrorsaur for his "Starscream-esque" personality and prominence in aerial attacks. Waspinator for his wonderfully comedic moments of pain and suffering.
Blackarachnia for her development from a "fully bad girl" into a "good bad girl". Inferno for his sadistic and deluded sanity. Quickstrike for his "rough 'n' tough" outlaw personality. And TM2 Dinobot for just being hardcore, yet able to find redemption in the end.
Beast MachinesFor the Maximals, a tie between Cheetor and Optimus. Cheetor really grew up in this series, putting the responsibility of second-in-command on his shoulders, trying to better look out for his teammates. He even questioned Optimus's strategies at times as being too reckless and unconcerned with the possibility that he (Optimus) was being led astray by false words from a tampered Oracle. However, Cheetor stood up for Optimus after Optimus went missing, saying that he may have disagreed with Optimus at times, but he was still their leader and never wanted Optimus gone. Optimus took a more sage-like role at first, communicating with the Oracle in order to bring down Megatron's extremist tyranny. He would eventually take more powerful roles such as taking control of Megatron's Grand Mal ship and finally, facing Megatron one-on-one in the finale as the final two living beings remaining on all of Cybertron. In the end, he sacrificed himself to save the planet, plummeting both himself and Megatron into the planet's core, reformatting it into a technorganic paradise.
For the Vehicons, I don't think I have a favorite. I liked all of them. Megatron had succeeded at conquering Cybertron and purged it of all life, resulting in the ultimate totalitarian dictatorship. Jetstorm was cool. An arrogant "traveling salesman" type personality with a like for torment and destruction; he was a real high flyer among his ranks. Thrust was cold, bitter, and a bad biker boy. A "no one gets in my way and gets away with it!" type dude. Though, he was probably the most loyal of all the Vehicons, having not been created from a Maximal spark and never siding with the enemy. Tankor was The Hulk! Big, strong, mad, destructive; he was a living killing machine! He was also a bit dumb, but that all changed when Rhinox's personality was reawakened within him. However, Rhinox had embraced Megatron's ideals and became an evil genius, providing a third party in the struggle of the first season. Strika and Obsidian were great. Master tacticians and strategists, they were able to bring down all the Maximals at once with their brilliant calculations and planning. Though, they hadn't counted on the newest recruit, Botanica, showing up and putting a hole in their plans. And as the series progressed, the Maximals would become smarter and would be more suitable adversaries for these two very dangerous foes.
Robots in DisguiseFor the Autobots, Ultra Magnus. Before becoming a "spotaneously recurring character," he was brutal! He came the Earth seeking out his brother, Optimus, in attempt to steal the Matrix from Prime
by any means necessary! This means that he was even willing to murder his own brother to claim what he believed to be rightfully his. And in his ultimate moment, he came to Optimus's aid to help him defeat his enemies who were attacking Optimus in his weakened state. But this was all a rouse as Magnus forced a "fushion" (
) between himself and Optimus into Omega Prime. This fusion was an attempt to make Optimus's power over the Matrix his own, but it instead resulted in them "sharing" the Matrix and gaining a magnificient power in battle (which Magnus wasn't particularly fond of, but would still come to his brother's aid again and again anyway).
Since there were two villain factions, I'll pick two villains. For the Predacons, Sky-Byte all the way! He was one of (if not
the) funniest Transformers characters of all time. Having a love for poetry and reciting his own Haikus, Sky-Byte featured some of the most hilarious moments in the whole series. And he was the Predacon Second-in-Command! His loyalty to Megatron was highly admirable, sticking by his side through and through, despite his incompetence. He grew to have a rivalry with the Decepticon leader Scourge, whom he saw as threat to his Sub Commander rank. He would go to great lengths to make himself look good and Scourge look bad, often failing miserably yet comedically.
("Who's the baddest shark around? Who's the smartest shark in town? Sky-Byte, that's me! Who'll drive Scourge into the ground. And never let old Megatron down— Sky-Byte, that's me!") For the Decepticons, it's obvious: Scourge. Forget every Starscream and every Nemesis Prime. I'll take this guy over them anyday. Scourge was a competent, capable, cold-hearted soldier. He was loyal at first and a master combatant. Merciless and ruthless, He and his Commandos brought several victories to Megatron that the Predacons had failed to do. This gained him much favor with Megatron, threatening Sky-Byte's title of second-in-command. But over time, his ambitions grew and he eventually saw Megatron/Galvatron as unfit to lead and secretly plotted to ursurp him, biding his time and using whatever underhanded methods he could without being exposed for schemer he was becoming. He saw an opportunity with controlling the Autobot titan Fortress Maximus and took it, turning the giant onto Galvatron. But the plan backfired when the Autobots intervened and seized Maximus once the secrets of controlling it were revealed. Scourge was then reduced to an ever-loyal soldier via a mindwiping by Galvatron, but was then discarded by his master once the battle escalated to extreme conditions.
ArmadaFor the Autobots, um... Blurr, I guess. He was very cool at first, being a lone wolf without a care for anyone else. But, after his debut episode, he seemed pretty underused, appearing as just another gunman in the conflict.
Or, maybe not Blurr. Jetfire might be a better choice. A cocky, loud, risktaker in the beginning. He was the life of the party when he first came around. There was a lot of excitement going for him. Then he became a pair of pants for Optimus... not his finest moment.
Or maybe Scavenger. Going undercover as a Decepticon at first, infiltrating them to gain info on them and such. Then pulling a surprising move of actually being an Autobot, and Optimus's old mentor to boot! But, then he took naps a lot. Yet he schooled Hot Shot, and did help him cope with the death of Optimus, but after that, he... ah, forget it!
I don't have a favorite Autobot in Armada.
For the Decepticons, um... well, this guy wasn't actually a Decepticon, but he's the the only guy I really enjoyed in Armada: Sideways. I liked his mysterious nature and his dark atmosphere. He was chilling, a very cold character that intrigued me quite a bit. His digital infiltration of the Autobot's base, sending the kids and the Street Action Mini-Con Team into cyberspace was both a confusing and a frightening experience to watch. Particularly at the end of it, when we get a glimpse of you-know-who. His Trans-Phase Mode was also very bizarre, but in a good way. He was alike a haunting spirit, stalking his enemies, plotting his own hidden agenda for his dark master.
Go-BotsWhile I have seen all four episodes, I haven't watched enough of it to gain a favorite character yet. So, no Go-Bots just yet.
EnergonFor the Autobots, again I don't have a favorite. I mean, there were several bots that I thought were cool, but it was only because of their voices, gimmicks, altmodes, toys, or appearances; not for any of their personalities. Therefore, it wouldn't be fair to judge any of these characters based on everything but who they are. So, I will give no favorite.
For the Decepticons, right off the bat, the answer is Shockblast. Holy cow, this guy was cool. One of the redeeming qualities of the Energon cartoon. He was cold, crazy, and just maniacal! A mass murderer and very psychotic. This guy had it all... until he went insane (well, insane even for him) and was reduced from a high-ranking field soldier into a low-ranking washout, who then plotted to usurp Megatron. The funny thing is,
he plotted against Megatron, yet
Starscream loyally defended their leader.
Once he went to being a treacherous schemer, his coolness dropped. But, at least he went out with a bang, gaining possession of the power of Unicron (which wound up possessing
him instead) and then being brutally crushed by the Chaos Bringer himself. Whoa.
CybertronFor the Autobots, this one's hard, but I guess I'd go with Vector Prime. Not one of my usual choices, but he was a pretty powerful character, in terms of both power and characterization. He held control over time and space, and turning back time was a taboo that he could not break without costing his own life. His was a very wise, sage-like character, relaying history and advice to his fellow Autobots, and well as providing them with their ability to use Cyber Keys Power. His ultimate sacrifice was his crowning moment, and moves me every time.
For the Decepticons, Starscream, no question.
Where has this Starscream been for the last... forever?!! He was very close to his G1 self in that he saw to usurp Megatron in the typical Starscream fashion. However, unlike G1 Starscream, he didn't openly state his plans to overthrow Megs and kept his plans secret. Overtime, he would secretly sabotage Megatron's plans in searching for the Cyber Planet Keys, in that he switched Megatron's map with a false one, and eventually made his move in by trapping nearly all the other Decepticons within a forcefield in space. This gave Starscream the opportunity he needed to make his move. He rounded up all the Earth's "monster Decepticons", launched a full-scale invasion of Earth, and single-handedly fought through each and every Autobot by himself to get both their Keys and the Omega Lock. Then he went a step further by making himself grow in size and power to gigantic proportions. Though he was eventually defeated in this form, he returned to take power directly from Primus himself, growing even further into a planet-sized gargantuan. He and a revived Primus had a literal 'war of the worlds', which he lost, but wasn't done yet. He returned with the Atlantis, made his way to Gigantion, and had two more grand scale battles. One against a "Super Landmine" over the Giant Plant Key, and one final battle against Galvatron, where he unleashed all that he had against a nigh-equally-powerful Galvatron. The battle ended with him losing, but he
still refused to die! Instead, he was sent to another dimension
(*insert Ocean Group DBZ dub pun here*). But this would not be the last of him, as his presence would be made known to the Autobot Wing Saber, who, along with Landmine and Mudflap, would encounter Starscream in what looked to be the Fire Dimension.
Live Action Movies (ROTF included)For the Autobots, nobody. Seriously, none the Autobots in the live-action movies really appealed to me. Not even Optimus. Sure, I thought he was awesome when I first saw him, but now he's just another Optimus Prime to me. Bumblebee barely spoke, and I like characters who talk. Ironhide, Ratchet, Sideswipe, and Arcee were all underused. The former two we know a little bit about, but these four overall didn't click with me. Jazz was killed off too soon, so I didn't get to know him that well. Jolt was barely on screen, so he's an unknown. Jetfire overplayed the "angry senile war vet", and his only real crowning moment is when he kills himself for Optimus (and we've seen much better and cooler self-sacrifices before). The Twins and Wheelie were annoying to me. If they weren't so... crude, I may have enjoyed them more, but they just come off as irritating instead.
For the Decepticons, ditto. Again, I didn't find any of the Decepticon characters all that appealing either. Between both movies, the only ones who got any real dialogue were Megatron, Starscream, The Fallen, and Soundwave, but they were all cliche villains who didn't stand out as appealing characters to me. I know that Barricade and Demolishor each spoke in their respective films, but they were merely a few sentences that tell us little-to-nothing of their personalities. And any other Decepticons with voice actors just growled, spoke nigh-incomprehensively (like Frenzy), or just made random noises. Let's face it, the humans were the main stars of these movies.
AnimatedFor the Autobots, I liked nearly everyone! But Prowl stands out just a bit more. He was amazing! Starting out as a loner ninja-bot who didn't work as a team player. He would isolate himself from others, not letting anyone into his personal space. But, he eventually came out of his shell and learned to work with others. As time went on, his ninja skills improved, mastering several moves and techniques such as the Metallikato Five Servos of Doom and Processor Over Matter techniques. We also eventually learn why he was such loner before. In the past, after he refused to enlist in the war, he became a student to the dojo master Yoketron, where he developed his Cyber-Ninja Corps. skills. However, his training was cut short when his master was murdered. Seeking to continue his training, he was discovered on an asteroid by Optimus Prime's Space Bridge Repair Crew, where Prowl's ship was destroyed in an accident and he had no choice but to accompany Optimus's crew. Near the series end, he and Jazz began to reassemble the scattered AllSpark fragments into one form. However, When the task proved futile and the situation neared catastrophe, Prowl took it upon himself to sacrifice his own spark to complete the AllSpark and shield the danger from damaging the city, as well as transporting Optimus to safety. This was his final act before ultimately perishing. A true hero to the very end.
For the Decepticons, I also like a lot of these. So, it looks like it may be a huge tie between Megatron, Starscream, Blackarachnia, Shockwave, and Lockdown. This was the second best Megatron of all time (Beast Era Megatron being the first). He was powerful, competent, nigh-unbeatable, and viewed himself as a revolutionary who would liberate the Decepticons from the oppressive rule of the Autobots. Starscream was just sick! Plotting to overthrow Megatron in typical G1 Starscream fashion, but instead by taking direct measures to do so as well as being secretive about it. Specifically,
planting a bomb on Megatron in an attempt to kill him in the first episode!!! Hardcore, Screamer! Blackarachnia was such a tragic character. Having once been the Autobot Elita-1, believed to be dead by Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime, she was mutated into a technorganic form by alien spiders on Archa Seven, and now seeks to rid herself of her freakish form by any means necessary. Shockwave was dark, cold, and sinister. Infiltrating the Autobot ranks under the guise of the Intel bot Longarm (Prime), he's worked his way to the top of Cybertron Intelligence through both deception and possibly murder, all in attempts to secretly let the Decepticons infiltrate Cybertron from the inside out. Lockdown was just grand. A cold bounty hunter who keeps the weaponry and gimmicks of his victims as trophies, this guy was both smooth and nasty. A perfect blend of all things sophisticated and appalling. Though, he wasn't a true Decepticon, as he considers himself neutrally-alligned (in fact, there's evidence that he might actually have once been an Autobot).
especially tarantulas (and jumping spiders =D so cute)!
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