The Doctor took great pleasure in having a body.. like when he was using Seven's to eat cheesecake. I think it would be a reward for him to have one.
^ true, though that was a biological body. Don't know if inhabiting an artificial body would be a similar experience.
I remember the Doctor being told artificial life could be sent to trial so they had them.. but I wonder if in the Thirtieth Century artificial life forms would be a little more advanced than a metal human shaped shell. I'm expecfting future technologies to develop skin, senses, to simulate corporal forms better than what we envision even in the form of a Data. I also expect future Star Ships to be improved too but that is for another topic.. but they will be more than bio neural .. they'll be telepathic.. have healing properties..
I imagine by the thirty-first century the distinctions between synthetic and organic life will have faded somewhat.
I was thinking something along the lines of a Soong-type android but with the Doctor's conscience. Or a construct, based around an advanced type of holographic controller.
Data never really developed any taste. He was fine with bland synthetic supplements to lubricate his inner workings. And it makes sense. He has no need to ingest anything, so why have taste? Smell, however, is crucial for safety purposes. Ultimately, Data has a "partial" kind of existence compared to humans. A good many things aren't there, like the core aspect of emotions. But then... Data can't ever get sick and theoretically could live forever (discounting destruction from an accident or attack). Which is preferable? Well, intellectually being an android would be the choice... yet, to live life without emotions or taste... is kind of a flat existence.
KYRIAN SPECTATOR: And the Doctor? TABRIS: Well, he served as our surgical chancellor for many years until he decided to leave. He took a small craft and set a course for the Alpha Quadrant, attempting to trace the path of Voyager. He said he had a longing for home, a family, and a need to raise an army.