In previous books, Merise was very much Caddy's "second" and was usually depicted as very capable, and very self-controlled. She kept her opinions to herself unless directly asked, and did a good job of maintaining an air of mystery and detachment like Moiraine used to in the early books.

In tGS, she's regressed to just another sniffy, arrogant AS.

I'm a little disappointed, really. I liked Merise.