Yeah but Cheetor grows out of that annoying rash and impulsive youth character. He's not like Wheelie who's forever impishly annoying for his entire run in G1! And Rattrap did annoy the hell out of me when I first saw the show too - he was my least liked character. But I grew to like him a lot. Rattrap is a lot like what Gears and Huffer were meant to be in G1 -- they just hate being in the war and openly complain about it. He's also desperately homesick for Cybertron. In the Season 1 pilot when Optimus Primal tells Rattrap to go rescue Cheetor while he provides cover, and Rattrap refuses so Optimus Primal has to go do it (and gets shot in the process) really irked me! I wanted someone to come and slap Rattrap really hard. But later it was funny when Dinobot would often put Rattrap in his place (and later on Rattrap would sometimes put Dinobot in his place too! Those two characters had a great dynamic! ), but more importantly Rattrap soon accepted his role as a combatant, proving to be highly resourceful and even charismatic (as seen when he was elected leader of the Maximals in Optimus Primal's absence). His constant pessimism and grating sarcasm became an ongoing thing that gave the show some comedic pauses in tense situations.

Rattrap: "I know, I know, I know... shut up Rattrap."

Rattrap: "Like I said, you're just a blasted slag-spoutin' saurian... but it's nice to know where ya stand."
Dinobot (with dying breath): "Upwind of you... for preference, vermin."
Rattrap: (smiles)
^More emotional depth in this brief moment than the entire Michael Bay Trilogy.