This article is going to be me taking all of the protagonists from the Assassin's Creed games and ranking them from my favourite to least favourite. This does leave out a few from the books and comic books despite those being cannon and despite the Assassin's Creed movie being cannon I don't feel like I could justifiably put Aguilar and Maria on here without them immediately being on the bottom. I don't feel the movie has a place in the universe as a cannon item, however if I'm only looking at cannon then that ignores characters like Alexios from Odyssey, so lets just say I'm focusing on the games protagonists.
Let's get started with my favourite characters from best to worst.
He is just a great character who has been totally flushed out through 3 games and a movie, he is a character that we've all seen every bad and good thing about. Ezio is an amazing character and the definition of what it means to be an assassin.
I love Edward Kenway's Assassin outfit, the modded leather over the traditional uniform, his maverick attitude, the fact he still acts like a pirate, his resistance to following the creed. He is the type of person you'd kick back and drink with, a chill man, who's willing to take action if needed.
His design isn't the greatest but it has become iconic over the years, the white hood is a staple, and the fact that unlike other assassin's we never see is face until he is old adds to his mystique. Altair was an interesting character and as we see as he got older his knowledge about the First Civilization and the Pieces of Eden became immense, he was the gatekeeper to vast amounts of knowledge the Brotherhood gained.
What I like about Connor Kenway is that while many consider him boring, I find that a Native American assassin is awesome. Especially one that is portrayed as having such a large impact on the formation of the United States during the Revolutionary War. Also, his back and forth relationship with his father Haytham, being a Templar Grandmaster he is obviously the polar opposite of Connor and men under his watch burnt his village down. However, Haytham isn't your typical Templar and is more understanding of both sides than others in their order, thus he brings up solid points to his son. If they got along better we might have seen a different dynamic in the games ending. I also really liked him in "The Tyranny of King Washington" DLC because he keeps his Mohawk name and has one of the best assassin outfits ever, receives his fathers hidden blades, and goes to take down George Washington who is using a Piece of Eden to control the country.
I found Aveline's character background and story really interesting, that's why I wrote it, the reason she's not higher is because the Colonial Brotherhood was incredibly dull. Her ability to change costumes to suit situations: from Assassin to Slave to High Class Lady was a unique thing for the game. Her design was unique and her voice actor did a great job with the whole bayou accent you expect from people in Louisiana.
Speaking of generic and dull protagonists, forget Alexios, oh jeez where do I even get started with Arno Dorian from Assassin's Creed Unity. First off, most people would say he should be last because of his game, now I'm not looking at Unity as a whole just the protagonist. I didn't mind Unity but while the glitches did throw me off at points it was Arno's character that really did it. I do not think in any Assassin's Creed game have I seen a less interesting main character; it says a lot when you fall below characters like Alexios, Connor, Altair, etc who many people say are the worst. Arno has a bland design: his robes aren't unique, his face and hair aren't interesting, his voice actor puts in minimal effort.
Another thing is and *SPOILERS* Rather than go after the killer of his father when he becomes an assassin (who we find out via Rogue is Shay Cormac) he briefly tries to get revenge for the murder he gets blamed for, the murder of the man who took him in and his ex-girlfriend's father (who is also a Templar). Which is just baffling. Why go after a Templar's murderer, regardless of his relation to you, when your job is killing Templars and not Shay Cormac who murdered your father.
His only 2 redeeming qualities: his unique gadget is awesome. The combo Hidden-blade/Crossbow. And that his on again, off again lover, Elise de la Serre (a templar like her father), does join forces with Arno to "save France" seeing Unity as a true Unity where one of the few cases of the Assassin's and Templars co-operating with one another.
Other than that. Generic. Dull. The reason he takes last place. He'd only bump up if I included the Assassin's Creed Chronicles (China, India, Russia) protagonists and Aguilar & Maria.