I mean, yeah. I needed a second take to appreciate this game, too, now it's on my Top Ten List. I liked Vayne as a villain, though, and he won't cut off his hair. His hair is the source of his power!
Vayne was a slightly better villain than Seymour, but still not great. Mind you, it is less convoluted than "the-baddie-is-an-all-powerful-sorceress-from-the-future-who-has-posessed-the-body-of-different-sorceresses-to-free-a-sorceress-trapped-in-space" situation in VIII (my second fave Final Fantasy BTW)
And as for Ashe and breathing, I concur!!
Vayne was more down to earth, and not wanting his brother to bloody his hands made him feel a lot more human than some of the other FF villains that came before him.
I didn't mind Seymour, but I always considered him a secondary antagonist after Sin.