Well in fairness I haven't played FF IX in a really long time (I also never finished it because it never grabbed me personally), and I'm not going to sit here and argue that my opinions on a character in something I haven't played in a long time are correct, because that would be silly...

I am more than willing to give FF IX another shot and see if he is less annoying. I just recall him as being very annoying when I played the game.