I guess that's a broader definition of characters than I am willing to give. Ships can be dynamic, can be inspirational, but a character is someone I can see the perspective of.It's not something that can be easily put to words and understood, it's more gutteral and feelings based.
You know how there are people who collect Action Figures or other toys?
Then there are those of us who collect Mecha, Machines in general.
And those are the things we collect, be it Motor Cycles, Cars, Aircraft, StarShips, etc.
And you understand how some people give their Swords a name, even a human name.
It's a different type of association with inanimate objects that we like.