Phèdre no Delaunay is the first one coming to mind. Other than that, as unoriginal as it may be, Tyrion Lannister. Deianira in Tigana. I just thought of Renie Sulaweyo in Otherland as well, and I'm sure there are many more.

Hm. I guess I like that none of them are conventional heroes, they're intelligent and more inclined to solve problems with their brains than with their brawn/magic - which also means they can be vulnerable and show weakness without falling to pieces over it. Obviously they all have other things making them great characters, but I think that's the most important thing and the thing they have in common. In Deianira's case part of it is just my love for tragedy and bittersweet stories in literature, I guess.

Antigone, Holden Caulfield (yes, another cliché), Dumas' Queen Margot, Trollope's Lady Glencora Palliser, I'm sure there are more here as well.

To some extent the same things. Antigone doesn't really fit the bill, with her single-minded and uncompromising heroism, but I guess that's the tragedy at work again.

I'm not entirely sure how to interpret that question... but one way or the other, in the end what matters is that you create a character who is believable. If it's a complex character, all the better, but a simple character who is credible and acts true to character is better than a complex one who lacks credibility and depth.

*shrugs* I'm not generally a very critical reader - I can appreciate superior quality, but I'm not generally that bothered by less talented writing, and I rarely find myself thinking "this book is so bad". And naming some author who isn't thought much of anyhow - Goodkind, say - wouldn't really be a helpful answer either. So I can't really think of anyone.

On the whole, story I guess - generally characters can only really be shown through a plot, anyway. But there are definitely exceptions - in The Catcher in the Rye, it's Holden Caulfield that the reader will remember, not the things that happen to him. And Jacqueline Carey has a rather good plot, and ditto worldbuilding, but it's Phèdre that makes the series one of my favourites instead of just another decent fantasy series.