Wow, I never realized "Picard" was a second shot at Pike.
I disagree that Tom Paris was "Riker Lite." Paris was a loser who made some mistakes, had questionable ethics, but a heart of gold.
Riker was totally dedicated to Starfleet and its ethos. And the biggest difference, Riker was extremely ambitious, where Paris had no Starfleet ambitions. He seems to have only joined because of his father's expectations, and was going to resign as soon as they got back. He just liked to pilot starships and was loyal to Janeway. He didn't care about his rank, and didn't have any interest in commanding others.
Paris became was also looking for a girl to settle down with, where Riker forsook the girl he had for his career, and for the freedom to be gross. I can't see Paris in very many Riker episodes, nor Riker in any Paris episodes(except that one in season 1 where Paris gets caught up in an affair and murder).