Wheeljack was Cybertron's most dangerous mad scientist. Braninstorm was,,, a scientist who created WMDs possibly too dangerous to actually use. Wheeljack was often a liability to himself. Brainstorm seemed to be onconcerned with ethics. Wheeljack served directly under Optimus Prime, but Brainstorm might actually be the better inventor. So did Optimus choose Wheeljack because of Brainstorm's moral ambivalence? Just trying to figure how these two characters would relate as they are both "the fixer" guys who have never directly been compared and contrasted.
Wheeljack showed up in like 2 seasons alongside various autobot heroes, Brainstorm left cybertron for a world that initially distrusted him and showed up for like 4 episodes. I think Wheeljack was more popular and better connected. Brainstorm might not even have been alive when the Ark left.
Wheeljack was just the guy who went with Optimus to search for new resources, doesnt rank him higher or lower than Brainstorm. And Brainstorm may have been younger, he did sound younger if that is anything to go by. But that is talking of Sunbow continuity. You seem to be talking of IDW. You should specify wich WJ and BS you are talking about, there are differences.
Thankfully we can actually figure out an idea of who ranks higher, through the magic to the cybertron space cu- I mean tech specs. Tech Specs are what I mean. G1 Brainstorm: Rank: 7 Transformers Generation 1 Brainstorm with Arcana - Transformers Tech Spec & Package Art Archive G1 Wheeljack: Rank: 8 Transformers Generation 1 Wheeljack - Transformers Tech Spec & Package Art Archive Well, there we have it. Like you said, waters get muddy outside of G1 tho...
