I'll always be burning a torch for the Shining Force boys. Bowie from SF2 probably stands out the most as people actually react to his "..." responses as if he'd just told a long epic story. And then there's the times people flat-out speak for him since he can't talk and they pretty much just put words in his mouth, which is amusing

But yeah, as far as how well it was actually done, Persona 4 probably did do it best. It's a nice halfway point between full blown Elder Scrolls style, and personality devoid old-school Link characters. It just kinda touches on the ability to join in the conversation, and is greatly helped by the ability to do extracurricular things either by yourself or with other people