Joining the Picard landslide here. Poet, statesman, explorer, warrior. Jolly good chap all round.

Kirk was a hero, but too much of a confrontational, cowboyish renegade to take top spot.

Janeway was moderately crazy and selfish, and got a huge number of people killed needlessly - including her own - while she single-mindedly pursued half-formed agenda and personal foibles. I can understand someone faltering under the kind of pressure she endured, but she never tried to learn from her mistakes, or even acknowledge that she'd made mistakes, despite repeating the same deadly blunders all too often.

Archer was cursed with terrible scripts and stories, at least for his show's first two seasons, but when things got good he really shone. Unlike most of Starfleet's finest he was truly in uncharted territory, doing things no human had ever tried. He was a genuine pioneer, and his influence on Vulcan culture alone makes him worth an honourable mention.

Pike seems like a good man and a good leader; it's a shame his story was cut short in two separate timelines. The man just can't catch a break.

Sisko's command may have had shaky beginnings, but he turned out to be one of the most complex and nuanced captains of the lot. He could go seamlessly from father, to leader, to spiritual icon, to spy, and back again without pausing for breath. He didn't always handle his many different roles perfectly, but he always owned his mistakes and took them right onboard. Also, he was a smurfing stone-cold BAMF when circumstances called for it.