Inspired by the thread in the Voyager forum. I didn't make it a poll since there are so many DS9 characters. For the purpose of this thread let's stick to regular cast members and major recurring characters. For me I loved the entire main cast but Jake appeared so infrequently in the last 4 seasons I'd personally consider him recurring rather than regular. But he's not my least favourite. That "honour" goes to Nog. I didn't like him when he was an unruly teenager and I didn't like him when he became an uptight Starfleet cadet and then officer. Nothing against the actor or the writer but he always came across as unlikable to me. I did, however, love "It's Only A Paper Moon" and felt sorry for him in that episode so it wasn't all bad. Since Nog was more or less a major character by the end of the series (even more so than Jake) I sort of cheated. My other option is Vedek Bareil. What a boring character.
Vedek Bareil? I second that. Mirror Bareil was a bit more interesting, but just slightly so. Winn is an unlikeable character, but I liked how Louise Fletcher portrayed her. I'm not fond of stories involving Romulans. So most of the episodes with Romulans were boring. Just my opinion. Maybe it's because we haven't seen much of Romulus itself. As Romulans weren't regular guests, I'm fine with that. The character I like the least is Jake. And it's not Jake's fault. He had poorly written scenes. As a DS9 fan I don't hate any characters. So this is a difficult choice.
This is a hard one, as I find something to like about all the characters. I wonder if the Bajoran society was deliberately written as matriarchal, as all the women had personality, Kira, Winn, Opaka, but the men were uniformly bland, especially Bareil and Shakaar, except maybe Mullibok. Season 1 Bashir was a pain in the ass, but I grew to love the character. I think my least favourite would be the Daxes. I see Trill, but my brain fills in Time Lord. I don't think the writers ever got a handle on them. They were supposed to be the sum total of several lifetimes of experience and personality filtered through the current host, but they came across as multiple personality disorder, understandable in Ezri, but not so much in Jadzia. She started off as otherworldly and wise, but I thought the writers got a handle on her when she revealed a playful mischievous side. But then Blood Oath introduced us to butch Jadzia (apparently Curzon was a part time Klingon, which I never bought from Facets), and from season 4 onwards, butch Jadzia was a constant presence, leading to the marriage to Worf, another relationship I was never sold on. Also, the Dax, Trill episodes, just like the Mirror Universe episodes seem to feel like a break from the actual story. A promise at the end of each episode to return us to our regular programming the next week. And then there was Meridian... So Dax and the Trills, not my favourites.
I understand the instinct to name Jake, though I would argue that they did a pretty good job with him. If his storylines and episodes seemed uneven, I think that's kind of cool because he was a teenager, growing up. How even-keeled were you at that age? Plus, even though the frequency of his appearances diminished as the series went on, his role never diminished. In my opinion, Jake is what makes Ben Sisko the best of the captains. I guess if I had to choose a character I liked least, it would be Worf. But I've never been a Klingon fan, so I'm biased. I think Dorn is fantastic in the role, but by the end of TNG I was ready to be done with Worf. So it was a little exhausting to have to deal with him again. But I will say, I think the Ezri introduction really reinvigorated Worf's storyline. I quite enjoyed that in season 7.
I clicked.on this because I pretty much dislike almost every actor on DS9, so I was curious. 1)I actually think Jake was the most likeable character on the show. Not the best or most useful--but the most likeable person. Cirroc Lofton honestly gave a good performance. Do people pick Jake just because he was a kid like Wesley, and everyone hates that kid? Wesley and Jake are completely different. 2) Worf was one of the best TNG characters. He was barely the same character on DS9--from personality to forehead prosthetic. Worf was pretty unlikable and a jerk on DS9--barely the same character. They DS9'ed him. My personal issue with DS9 is that pretty much the whole cast was unlikeable-- a spectrum of acting ablities and some really odd performances by Brooks and Visitor throughout. Character relationships because they're in the script, not because of chemistry. Virtually none of the actors had chemistry with each other except Odo/Quark and Jake/Ben. Bashir and O'brien was so "forced".
Bareil was somewhat duller, compared to the rest, but his arc wasn't that bad--definitely more development than Kim or Mayweather
Morn. They guy was a complete smart-ass, always talking smack about other people. Probably didn't pay his bar tab either.
Vedek Bareil was a boring pretty boy. I read somewhere online the character has or did have a small fan base at the time. I think, but I'm not entirely sure it might be the reason why the actor returned to play the mirror version of Vedek Bareil.
I never understood that decision. They wrote him out because they weren't excited by his character and then brought him back for a Mirror Universe episode. An episode, I might add, that ended up being the worst Mirror Universe episode of all of them. Only The Intendant saved it from being a complete waste.
Dax*. In all forms. My thoughts echo the OP's post, but I wouldn't be so kind. (*Assuming we are talking about main cast)
I didn't care for Worf coming to DS9, though I don't fault Michael Dorn for finding a way to get a steady job out of the character.
^ Season 4 went far too Klingon for my liking. Though we did get Martok because of it, probably my favourite Klingon.
I love loathing Weyoun; he's so smarmy you just want to smack him. Brent I didn't really care for, mainly because he channels too much Weyoun. Brooks really grew into the role, but in the beginning i felt his acting was too stiff. Of the main cast, i'd say Bashir or Dax were my least favorite, but I don't think i found any of them really unlikable. In terms of guest characters, i really wish they hadn't brought Majel Barrett to DS9 - the arc with Odo was really lame.
I don't really hate any of the main characters, but if I had to choose one I have the least liking of ... I'd say Ezri. She had some great storylines in her only season, but she just didn't have the same impact for me as Jadzia. As far as recurring characters, I would have to say Gowron. I never cared for him on TNG and was happy to see him go on DS9.