hmph...i wouldn't be with a dude (or a chick) that i didn't love just because he/she was gorgeous...i wouldn't waste my life struggling in a career that does not fulfill me just because it promised big money...and i WON'T play as characters i can't stand just to have a better chance of winning. being untrue to yourself just to have an easier go of it, in any circumstance, is foolish. sheeva and sindel are my wives. they always have been, and they're always gonna be. jade and kitana will always be my mistresses. shang, baraka, and quan are forever my backdoor men. kanowill always be the FWB who pops in from time to time for fun. that's just how it's gonna be. i don't care where they fall on the tier list; i picked them because they are my characters, not because i think they present the path of least resistance.
and yes, victories ARE that much sweeter when you use the character you should be using, not just the one you think is safe. and yes, i guarantee you an inspired player using their favorite is, more often than not, gonna do better and be better than a player who's using a character they may not really be crazy about, but figure they can win with. TYM is littered with kung laos, cyraxes, kabal's, cages, and smokes who got buried with my low-tier squad. you show me any player i've ever faced (except for that handsome bastard
DanCock, who is just too good, and
Espio, who deals me a loss for every win) and i'll show you a victim who knows what it's like to get telestomped into shit by sheeva and lit up by purple fireballs. yes, i have at times had to eat losses due to my characters simply not having the tools to cope with f3's, nd cancels, etc, but i'd rather that than win using a character i simply can't stand (ie sonya, cage, raiden, scorpion, kung lao. no offense to those who love 'em, i just never clicked with them; they are not meant for me).
so, to make a long story short...LOYALTY!!!