People aren't simplistic expressions of one idea. As a result, I think Jordan really only wrote about one, perhaps two people (Ishamael showed some depth). The fact that this is the case is abundantly clear in the atrocious story writing. Nynaeve pulls her braid. Someone else smooths her dress. No one has any real conflicts or acts with anything approaching the complexity of a real person.

And so yes, I know it's fantasy. But to be believable fantasy it has to have some points of contact with the real world that allow the reader to relate to someone. And for the reader to really relate, there has to be some depth, some conflict within as well as without the characters.

As for the obscurity of WoT, it's already fading. And let's not forget that Goodkind's Sword of Truth series is also a best-selling fantasy series. Just because something is flavor of the month doesn't mean it will last. To last, it has to remain popular. WoT went off the rails and had a sloppy, stitched-together ending because the writer died before he finished it. I don't blame Sanderson for it; he was doing the best with what he had. I never recommend fantasy books anymore to anyone, but my "fantasy fanatic" friends (that's a lot of "f"s) don't recommend Wheel of Time to anyone. Mistborn - absolutely. aSoIaF? Sometimes. WoT? Never. You have to be pretty deep in the Kool-Aid to recommend what turned out as a botched series to someone, knowing everything we know now.