Hmmm, one thing that I don't remember bothering me when I was younger but that does annoy me now is the superior attitude held by virtually all the female characters. "Men think with the hair on their chests" and "We let them play with their toys and we'll handle the real business" (not exact quotes, but you get the idea). I think this might have something to do with older sisters and democrats, but I'm not really sure. Of course, it might just be because I'm ticked that women really are smarter than us men...
Mat sticks out as my favorite character. I could talk about him being a rogue/scoundrel yet responsible when need be, but that seems to have already been covered pretty well. I used to empathize with Rand when he was
the main character, but the story stopped revolving around him after the first couple of books. I also used to like Perrin quite a bit, especially because I thought the whole "wolf-brother" thing was cool. He was solid and dependable, like a rock. However, also like a rock, he eventually started to become a bit boring.
I really need to reread the series, especially with the last book on the way. I am looking forward to, although dreading slightly, seeing how my perceptions of the characters have changed.