My initial foray through the Wiki list of Narnia characters (books only, of course) left me with 15 favorites. So after much agonizing and paring down and arguing with myself...here are my top ten:
10) Puzzle
Poor donkey, he's so gullible...but the fact that he's willing to admit his mistakes and do everything he can to make things right really struck a chord with me. What else are we to do when we are misled and make mistakes? He really redeemed himself in my eyes.
9) Lucy Pevensie
She is amazing, no two ways about it. First to find Narnia, holds steadfastly to it despite her siblings' mockery, becomes an archer in Horse and His Boy as someone else brought up (very cool), is the only one to clearly see Aslan in Prince Caspian, nice as can be to Eustace for the most part despite his brattiness at the beginning of Dawn Treader...she is just all-around excellent.
8) Hwin
Hwin is a no-nonsense horse and I love her for that. I chose several of my characters because they have just one scene that is a stand-out in my mind, and she is one of them: Her moment of humility with Aslan when they meet ("I'd sooner be eaten by you than fed by anyone else") is inspirational. I'm glad she was able to break free and find happiness in Narnia.
7) Caspian X
(aka the Caspian that we all know best and love) Another one with a stand-out scene: when Aslan asks him if he feels prepared to take up the kingship of Narnia and he says no, to which Aslan replies that "if you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not." He is brave and manages to unite the Old Narnians despite their suspicion of him since he was a Telmarine. Not to mention the utter epicness of the Utter East voyage that comprises the whole of Dawn Treader, and he was of course the king to rebuild Narnia's sailing after Miraz all but wiped it out. He did Narnia a lot of good. Even though I knew that of course he had to die eventually, it still broke my heart in Silver Chair.
6) Strawberry/Fledge
This horse made Magician's Nephew for me. He and the Cabby/Frank have hilarious interactions, and he was so witty and fun to read. I cheered inside (okay, maybe out loud too) when he was chosen by Aslan to become a winged horse. And then of course he was crucial to Digory and Polly's mission. Also, it was so cute how he let the kids cuddle up under his wings!
5) Puddleglum
For reasons everyone else has already said. His Eeyore-like demeanor, his no-nonsense approach that lets him see through the lies of the Lady of the Green Kirtle - TWICE, I might add (on the road when she directs them to the city of the giants, and again in the room with the enchantment in the fire or whatever...forgive me, Silver Chair is my least favorite of the books and I haven't read it in some time.) Eustace and Jill badly needed an "adult" guide on their journey, and Puddleglum provided that for them, being hilarious to read all the while.
4) Edmund Pevensie
I'll be honest, he irritated me to no end in LWW, even after his redemption. But he more than made up for it in Prince Caspian and Dawn Treader. He's another one I picked because of a stand-out scene - in Prince Caspian, when Lucy sees Aslan and no one else will believe her, and he refers to the fact that she was right before and this time, he believes her. His duel with Trumpkin, his conversation with Eustace-the-dragon where he reveals that he was so much worse than Eustace on his first trip to Narnia, his level-headedness, and of course he's hilarious...favorite for sure.
3) Jewel
This unicorn is the personification of grace and nobility and all that is proper, in my opinion. He is absolutely loyal to Tirian and to Narnia, and is the first to figure out Shift's "Aslan" deception. The one thing I remember most about him though, is right after the Narnians kidnap/rescue Puzzle (however you want to look at it) and at first they are somewhat judgmental of him. Jewel talks to Puzzle about "the sort of things they could both understand, such as eating grass and the care of one's hoofs" or something along those lines. Of course the Narnians all accept Puzzle very quickly, but that little snippet more than anything convinced me that Jewel had a heart of gold.
2) Shasta/Cor
This kid absolutely amazes me. He feels guilty leaving Arsheesh, even though he knows full well that the fisherman doesn't care about him and plans to sell him if he stays. He escapes the comfort and potential wealth he found with the Narnians to honor his rendezvous with his friends; he bravely faces danger several times (though usually he does nothing terribly useful). And all this despite his less-than-ideal upbringing and lack of training. He is compassionate, brave, and determined.
1) The Hermit of the Southern March
I love the Yoda-type characters in any universe: Yoda, Rafiki, Dumbledore, and of course, the Hermit of the Southern March. Old, wise, and caring, the Hermit provides rest and relief just when Aravis and the horses need it most, and direction for Shasta. He has obviously learned to have faith in Aslan, as evidenced by the quote in my sig. Not to mention, he can see current events in his little pool! How cool is that? Coolest character in the entire Narnia universe, in my opinion.
Whew! That was actually quite hard
"Daughter, I have now lived a hundred and nine winters in this world and have never yet met any such thing as Luck. There is something about all this that I do not understand: but if ever we need to know it, you may be sure that we shall."