Solid Snake is #1, and the rest is all #2.

wow i had no idea kyuu's list is so similar to mine.

okay, thats cool =) Great taste :)

I don't really like top lists because ordering is often quite arbitrary/random, but I'll try anyway.

1. The Boss
2. Revolver Ocelot
3. Big Boss
4. Solid Snake
5. Liquid Snake

There's some competition for #5, but the rest are pretty clear. Their order isn't, though. The Boss and Ocelot and more memorable and coherent stories than Big Boss, and The Boss has the more memorable story of the two. Similarly, Big Boss is more memorable than Solid Snake. Liquid Snake is there mainly because of the good backstory, and I suppose his appearance in MGS2 and MGS4 doesn't hurt either (although I really dislike MGS4's plot twist regarding him). Other good candidates were Otacon, whom I considered too whiny in the end, Gray Fox, who doesn't really get shown enough in modern MG games to warrant a place on the list, Psycho Mantis, who (in practice) appears in just one game, and Sniper Wolf, who suffers from the same as Psycho Mantis (although I kind of like her a bit more, probably because she's seen more in MGS1 than Psycho Mantis is, and she also has this thing with Otacon which gives her an additional layer of depth).

So, uh, I guess MGS1 had the best characters in my opinion? I think it was the most balance whole of the series anyway, and the rest all had some weaknesses MGS1 didn't. I still prefer MGS2 myself, but it does have its weaknesses too. Anyway, as for the poll: no! I'm not sure if I trust Konami enough to handle anything related to Metal Gear anymore and if I do, I'd rather have remakes of Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 (note the lack of 'Solid' there).

EDIT: Oh wow, this was my 4999th post? I should probably be careful with my next post so I say something meaningful. Probably not happening though, I'm afraid...

1º The Boss.
2º Big Boss.
3º Solid Snake.
4º Gray Fox.
5º Ocelot.

interesting theory in the internet:
Skull Face = the father of (the real) Psycho Mantis ?! xD