I would say I like Shulk as a character more than a lot of others seem to, I think he's got an interesting personality, background, growth, etc. compared to a lot of other RPG leads. His emotional growth leads to one of the best cutscenes in the game with him, Dunban, and Metal Face...
however, Shulk still loses out to the vast majority of the XC1 cast. Dunban, Melia, Reyn, and Mecha Fiora all are way more compelling characters to me than Shulk is, and Riki's like the only successful Nopon they've done imo. The standard in the first game for characters is pretty high so not a terrible loss for Shulk. I like him a lot, but I like his friends better /shrug