What you like most about your characters doesn't necessarily have to be obvious virtues. One thing I like about my Eileen, my rebellious fairy godmother, is her blunt honesty though it lands her right in it and will continue to do so for as long as I write about her!
Much as I love Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, I always found Beth to be a little too much of a goody goody and much preferred the other sisters, especially Jo and Amy. Jo appealed because of her wish to be a writer and her unerring ability to put her feet in it. Amy was vain. But I could see where both those girls came from and I guess that is the point. (I also shared Jo's unerring ability to put said feet in it and still do!).
What I like to see in a character includes:-
- A sense of humour.
- A sense of fair play and honesty in a "good" character.
- A villain who is not evil for the sake of it but has good reasons to be the way they are. Again I need to see where they come from. It's not important to agree with it! I usually won't in fact.
- The ability to develop, to recognise their own failings and to try to overcome them, even if they're not always successful at this.
- The ability to recognise worth in others. Even where villains treat others with contempt, I like to see them have some respect for other characters even if they suppress it. For example my Chief Witch respects Eileen but it won't stop the former trying to kill the latter.
So what do you like to see in a character and how can you best show that? Reading through your stories are your characters as likeable (where appropriate) as you thought they were? Are they coming through on the page in the way you meant them to do so?