Yeah, Ryuuji is da bomb, and like Kyon, is the main reason why I'm still here.
As for Taiga, right now she comes off better than Louise at least, though repeated actions like in eps 1 will put her in the same level for me. But since this is only the first episode, I'm willing to give her the chance to break out of that violent behaviour. I'm trying to be optimistic that that habit is going to die down, rather than intensify as it did with Louise.