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Excluding 8 until we get full lines as well
>Personal taste
5 > 1 > 7 > 6 > 2 > 3 > 4
>Design quality
1 > 3 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 > 2
>How well suited they are for the "starter" role
1 >= 7 > 6 > 3 > 4 > 2 > 5
First Gen starters are just great. All trios generally share some design element or stylistic approach but Kanto's are different in that they actually straight up share similar faces. It gives them both a sense of unity and rivalry, so they're perfect for playground fights about which is best but in the end when all banter settles down are just a big friendly group. Blastoise is a shit though and ruins this dynamic.
Second Gen starters are mundane. There's not really anything wrong with them, but there's nothing special about them and nobody would bat an eye if they were just regular Pokemon. Starters should stand out otherwise there's no real point in them being the starters.
Third Gen starters are all cool. Can't fault them. Their only downside is that they kind of rely on being cool, so there's not much of a dynamic to them and if you aren't into strictly cool designs then they won't do anything for you.
Fourth Gen starters I feel rely too much on what they are and not what they offer. Smug royal penguin line is a smug royal penguin line. Sun Wukong monkey is a Sun Wukong monkey. It's great if you're into those things but they just fall kinda flat if you're not. Torterra is the exception where it's a world turtle carrying its own little world for other little critters to play around and live on - absolutely fantastic design - but unfortunately its pre-evos don't offer that same potential. I could just be biased for whatever reason but 4's set just really doesn't do anything for me.
