Aerith is great! It's easy to get the impression that she's 'innocent, pure and devoid of sins' - I think a lot of the fandom remembers her that way - but actually she's smart and mischievous and flirty and fun. I like her enormously.

I do have a feeling I will hate Cloud as heck (as much as I hate Squall right now).

Squall and Cloud are my favourite characters in their respective games (Squall is one of my favourite characters of all time), so I'm afraid it's possible I'll have to challenge you to a duel. It did take me a few playthroughs of Final Fantasy VII to appreciate Cloud, though, whereas I loved Squall immediately.