With the release of Mass Effect legendary Edition, players new and old have started to discover the massive, detailed world, and are fast to play favorites with the unique band of misfits aboard the Normandy.  The personal relationships you forge with your squadmates are what makes Mass Effect such a beloved game, and this list will weed out the best from the worst. Obviously, this is just one man’s opinion, so if you don’t see your favorite Normandy crew on the top of the list, please call me out with a strongly worded comment.

This list does not include squadmates that are only available for DLC missions or single missions, like Admiral Anderson, Aria, and Nyreen. Also, major spoilers ahead.

#20  Jacob Taylor

To most people who have played the series before, it should come as no surprise that Jacob is last. Aside from being the most boring of the human squad mates (which is saying something), he also has an abrasive personality that shows in his interactions with Shepard. If I have to hear “I’m not big on forcing these talks” one more time I’m going to throw him out of the airlock.

#19  Ashley Williams

Ashley comes out of the gate strong with her dislike of aliens and religious values in the year 2183, making her immediately unlikeable. The last thing I want to hear in my space game full of interesting aliens is how one of the crew doesn’t like having to look at them. The only reason she is above Jacob is that she isn’t as boring.

#18  Miranda Lawson

When Mass Effect attempted to sell me on a bioengineered woman that is “perfect” in every way down to her abilities, looks, and intellect, It had the opposite of the intended effect. She is a pushy Mary Sue character with never fully resolved daddy issues and a lot of annoying beef with other squadmates.

#17  Morinth

Morinth is more or less just an evil Asari, and the opposite of Samara. She likes to party and murder and beyond that, she isn’t much of anything. The only reason to choose her over Samara is during a renegade playthrough.

#16 Zaeed Massani

Zaeed can have a lot of funny dialogue moments and stands out among the human squadmates, but his laissez-faire attitude makes him feel like a sidekick or background character. His only care in the world is credits and killing the head of the Blue Suns. Though his voice is iconic, and R.I.P. to Robin Sachs.

#15 Kaidan Alenko

Barely above Zaeed, Kaidan can be annoying at times with his constant distrust of Shepard, but he makes up for it with his unique relationship with biotics, which makes him a better Spectre candidate than Ashley.

#14 Kasumi Goto

Kasumi has some of the funniest lines in the series, and her DLC missions let her stand out in a lot of cool ways. However, she does become sort of one-note, and doesn’t live up to her potential as a character. She and Zaeed both were sort of forgotten due to their status as DLC characters.

#13 James Vega

James can seem one-note at times, becoming nothing more than a meathead beefcake. However, his N7 storyline and interactions with Shepard make him likable and nuanced. It’s also nice to have a loveable idiot onboard at times.

#12 Samara

Aside from her piercing white eyes, Samara’s status as a justicar is a very cool way to expand the universe of Mass Effect and give insight into unique aspects of the Asari culture. However, like Kasumi she did end up not having enough dimensions to make her stand out otherwise, but her quotes were some of the deepest in the series.

#11 Javik

Though slightly more dynamic than Samara, Javik does have some one-note tendencies and one-liners the devs were overusing a bit in an attempt to create a catchphrase, like “I should go” or “calibrations”. However, the subversion of the Prothean race compared to what we expected made Javik stand out, and his personal history to the Reapers and the previous cycle stayed true to his character and explains his motivations and personality excellently.

#10 Jack

Jack is one of the more dynamic characters in the series and her character design, dialogue, and abilities are all pretty cool. If only she wasn’t such a demanding character to turn “good”. It makes it hard to believe a paragon Shepard would allow such a maniac aboard in the first place, however necessary to stop the Collectors.

#9 Grunt

In the same vein as Jack, Grunt is a dynamic character that can be downright volatile at times. However, his growth is more balanced than Jack’s and his history as a bioengineered “perfect” Krogan is just a little more interesting than the tortured child Jack was. His storyline in the 3rd game is also full of “Grunt” moments that make him easy to love.

#8 Urdnot Wrex

Uncle Urdnot has some of the best lines in the series, and his ability to unite the Krogan clans and look for new direction for the Krogan people while still maintaining his status as very much Krogan made Wrex one of the coolest characters in the series. It’s too bad we only get him as a squadmate in the first game, and for a few missions in the third.

#7 Liara T’soni

If it wasn’t for Liara becoming the Shadow Broker she would be farther down the list, but Mass Effect wouldn’t be the same with our favorite Asari archeologist. While she maintains the same basic tone of voice throughout the series, her relationship to the story and Shepard is closer than a majority of the other characters, let alone squadmates. She is also one of the few squadmates that a male or female Shepard can romance.

#6 EDI

Of all the squadmates in the series, you get to watch more growth from EDI than anyone else, in some places literally. Seeing how she interacts with Joker and Shepard and how the player can influence her perception on humanity is very interesting. She also has more influence on the story than most, which makes the canon ending especially tragic.

#5 Mordin Solus

“Had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong.” Mordin Solus is the most interesting Salarian in the series and definitely one of the top characters overall. He has the best lines in the series, and not just because they are hilarious but also iconic. His viewpoint on the genophage is what convinced me to cure it in the first place.

#4 Thane Krios

Thane Krios oozes cool. Everything about him, from his species, voice, clothing, and skills makes him what Miranda wishes she could be. Thane is wise, calm, faithful, loving, and dangerous. His ascension into becoming a father and making up for the sins of his past makes him come together as one of the most sympathetic characters in the game.

#3 Legion

Probably the most complex character in the entire series, Legion changes the player’s entire perception on artificial intelligence, how to define life, and the importance of perspective. Not only is he unique as far as Geth is concerned, but among all the characters Shepard meets. “Does this unit have a soul?”

#2 Garrus Vakarian

There is no Shepard without Vakarian. One of the two squadmates that joins you in every game in the series, but also contends with Thane for being the coolest. Unlike Miranda, Garrus is a powerful fighter that also has realistic flaws. His character arch stretches across the entire series, and every small interaction with him is worth the trip to the crew deck.

#1 Tali’Zorah Nar Rayya Vas Rannoch

Everything I can say about Garrus I can about Tali. She is there from the beginning, her arch is complex and long, and she is a genius engineer with realistic roots. However, finally standing on Rannoch after the conflict between the Geth and Quarians is resolved, and Tali finally takes off her face plate, is the most defining moment for me across the series. Beyond curing the genophage, stopping Saren, or stabbing Kai Leng. I will never have a dry eye every time I watch that scene.

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