Liara will have to work hard for me to like her.
I don't care much for Liara either, my complaints about her have nothing to do with yours. I see what you're saying, and I agree, but what I disliked was that male characters (haven't played a female yet) are basically forced into a romantic relationship with Liara just for being nice to her. Even if you're more or less neutral, you can find yourself inadvertantly romancing Liara. There is one particular dialogue where you can tell her you just want to be friends, but if you miss it you may end up attached to her even if you're trying to romance Ashley.
Also, she just seemed a little too young for romance material. She seemed to be the most naive of all the PC's you meet. Of all the aliens on board the ship, she is the only one routinely surprised by human behavior, indicating a relative lack of experience with our kind. She also has a very young looking face, a high pitched voice, and virtually no breasts (although that isn't necessarily an indication of age). My point is that the one time I did romance Liara, I felt like a pedophile. At least with Ahsley, I know she's a
woman, and not a girl.
I could complain about Ahsley too, but this thread is supposed to be about our favorite
NPC's so I'll just stop there.