There are a lot of great Capcom characters:
Strider Hiryu
Morrigan (The original Sucubus)
Akuma
M. Bison (You know how many copy-cats there are?)
Dhalsim (same as M. Bison)
Chun-Li
Guile
And other fighting game characters:
Iori
Yamazaki
Especially characters from Samurai Showdown!
Here for more fighting game characters, heh:
http://www.gamegen.com/fightgen/characters.html
As for other RPGs:
Lenneth Valkyrie - Valkyire Profile
Arngrim - VP
Lezard Valeth - VP
Fei - Xenogears
Vyse - Skies of Arcadia
Chaz Ashley - Phantasy Star IV
Rune Walsh - PSIV
Dark Force - Phantasy Star I-IV
Profound Darkness - PSIV
Yuber and Luca Blight, as shown by Crono are also good
Methinks 90% of these characters could take 50% of thise "seasons" lineup, as far as character design and quality. Popularity... maybe not, because a lot of the "gamers" here aren't very seasoned, heh.