Barret has the most HP, and that helps me get Beta from Midgar Zolom before Junon. When he's done that, I'm forever grateful and keep him in the party - at least until Rocket Town. So Barret ain't the worst. Btw, his ranged attack can help a lot.
Barret
Tifa
Aeris
Red XIII
Yuffie
Cait Sith
Cid
Vincent
Barret has the most HP, and that helps me get Beta from Midgar Zolom before Junon. When he's done that, I'm forever grateful and keep him in the party - at least until Rocket Town. So Barret ain't the worst. Btw, his ranged attack can help a lot.
He has less hp than Cait Sith (I'm pretty sure thats the only good stat that doll has but its really high), and his attack is weak. Who cares about other stats, but his stat growth is poo, and his limits are meh.
I'm glad most EoFFers agree that Yuffie is full of suck.
Well, as I said before, by the time I get Cait Sith, Barret already has learned Ungarmax, which is actually much better than Cait Sith's HP advantage (IMO).
And about Yuffie - she was awesome in battle. Not only could she easily deal 9999 with Morph, but also she has a very nice 2x AP weapon stolen from Diamond Weapon - that and her limit break Doom of the Living. Besides, when you first get her (which is always before Junon whenever I play FF7) you can already get Boomerang as a better weapon; also, her standart armor is very nice.
HP Plus and MP Plus negates natural HP and MP limits, so that's never a concern for me.
My single favorite limit break is Great Gospel, but it's defensive rather than offensive. I actually dislike Vincent's limits since he's uncontrollable, so I prefer using him in random battles instead of boss fights. Yuffie falls in between for me, neither the best nor the worst.
But Cait Sith still bottoms out my list.