I sometimes surprise people by saying my "favorite character" in some story or another is someone widely agreed to be a jerk. But I've often found jerks to be some of the most interesting characters, the ones that give you the most to think about. And the characters I like the most are the ones with depth and layers, the ones you can think about after the story is done and worry out how and why they acted that way.
As always, spoilers behind the cut.
I gave some people a bit of surprise by saying that Umbridge was one of my favorite characters in Harry Potter. But while I would never want to meet her, talk to her, hang out with her, I thought she made a far more interesting and effective villain than Voldemort ever did.
And likewise, one of my favorite characters in ASoIaF has always been Theon. I know a lot of people just can't stand him, but I loved the idea that he was this kid literally caught in between two starkly (ha!) different worlds and never really given the tools or the drive to pick which one he wanted.
I love the idea of a kid who was given away, literally, in the aftermath of losing his elder brothers. It's never any secret what he is. He's there as a prisoner, however nice the cage, to ensure his father's behavior.
But it also felt pretty clear to me that he grows to really like the Starks. While he's brash, full of himself and a bit of an idiot, it also feels like he and Robb are probably best friends, and it always felt to me like he really cared about the rest of the kids as well (Well, perhaps not Jon). It also felt like he respected Ned, respected Robb as a leader, and really wanted to help him when he returned home.
The relationship, such as it is, with his father is also complicated and strange. He's no longer an acceptable son, but that's a direct result of what his father did. Imagine what Ned would have done if young Theon was trying to take what he wanted with the iron price.
Man, though, I think I could have done without what happened to him in ADWD. Yikes.
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