I like Maya but I don't like being complicit in a lesbian duo, tell me currently in the game is there any way to start a relationship with Maya without Josie? I'm at the stage of choosing a way in the scene at the table with john-boy, his girlfriend, tommy and his girlfriend. Jill is acting like an immature child, there's clearly something wrong with Sage, Bella has her own skeletons in her closet and cow boobs that are repulsive, the only girl I liked turned out to be a lesbian, what the hell?
I can understand this perspective. I'm not really a fan of the lesbian story arc either. Plus, I have a hard time seeing them as a couple and I think they're only together because they're both extremely lonely. But this is a soap opera, so yeah, it is what it is.
If you travel down Jill's path, to me it seems she was designed to be a sort of semi-plausible "teaching the virgin about love" route. She's got some darkness in her life, you're there to also bring her some light and some real-world perspective. She's rich and insulated - you're poor and know what it's like to live in a house that can't keep you warm during the winter.
Bella - I share you concerns with her body design (like Jill's) - it's a bit too unrealistic. It should be more grounded in reality, like Maya or Josy. However, the dev does a *really* good job with her emotional reactions on her beautiful face as you get closer to her and you can help bring her out of a really dark place, a sort of depression.
I really like Sage. But at the same time she's the hardest character to understand, from my perspective. We're not really shown why the hell she's so attached to Chad. She has a really, really hard time detaching from him and it's inexplicable. However, that also means she's really loyal, in her own strange way. So she'd be great to have as a partner if you've shown her she can rely on you. She's pissy, but she also doesn't go down that whole stupid tsundere route. She's also been stuck with parents who seem to have been able to supply her with material support, but not much else. Her dad is a self-absorbed narcissist - maybe even a tad bit on the sociopath side. He doesn't seem to be able to attach to others or feel much in the way of empathy. It's all about him, and that's not the kind of person you want to be around. So Sage triggers the appropriate number of white knight feels for me, personally.
Anyway, I'm not trying to change your mind about any of the characters, your comments I can pretty much relate to and of course I have my own perspective on the story and characters.