That's true -- it definitely is a more enjoyable watch, especially if I dislike her at the beginning but watch her grow into someone who's motivations aren't just prompted by anger and grief.

I'm currently enjoying Manousos's character, since he has a very clear set of principles from the beginning that put him at violent ends to the reality around him. I like watching him let his guard down ever so slightly

Yeah you don't hear this kind of criticism about unlikeable characters in a lot of fiction, like say Walter Sobchack from The Big Lebowski. He is legitimately terrible, selfish, and controlling. He tries to steal the Big Lebowski's money and then lies to his face at the end of the film saying "as if we'd ever try to steal your dirty money!" What makes Walter such a good character is because of how disarmingly real that is. He's not a person who is actually very likeable at all, but you don't usually get people saying they don't like The Big Lebowski because they don't like Walter.