G1 cartoon - Prime, Bumblebee, Magnus, Rodimus
Budiansky - Prime, Grimlock, Blaster, Ratchet
Furman - Prime, Grimlock, Magnus, Jetfire

My personal opinion is that Prime, Bumblebee, Grimlock and Magnus are the four big hitters in the Autobot ranks. I could be convinced to change my mind on Magnus.

 

I'd have to go with:

Optimus
Bumblebee
Ratchet
Ironhide

Between continuities, these characters are usually the main staples of the Autobot cast. I'd also include Jazz, Grimlock, and maybe Arcee with the usuals. Most other characters are fairly inconsistent. Windblade would be definitely be part of that list if we're talking about more recent media. They've definitely made an attempt to make her part of the core cast.

Someone should factor up all of the Autobots' screentime in every cartoon, comic, movie, etc; and see who has the most when added together.

 

Grimlock - everybody loves a Dinosaur and he's the King
Jazz - The ever present second and music lover. He's a bit of a stereotype at times, but that just makes him more recognizable
Bumblebee - Feels forced since the first Bay movie, but you can't deny his presence or longevity
Hot Rod/Rodimus - one of the most controversial characters in Transformers over the years AND most recognizable. He was also one of the first Original non-repaint/remold toys we ever got in the G1 toy line and has gone through the fewest changes over the years

 

Damn you.

Great minds...

 

I am going to second this group of choices as that's who I would think of if it came down to ranks and officers to be in line for the Matrix of Leadership. Arguably Bumblebee is starting to work his way in there with how much he is included in every version now and I could see him substituting Jazz but i'd stick with the 4 above

 

Hasbro seems to be trying to push Optimus, Bumblebee, and Windblade as the holy trinity of the franchise, so I'd say they are the most popular characters. If not now, then certainly soon.

 

It depends on the show, season, continuity, etc. I don't think there even should be a Big 4 Autobots in the brand that always get focus. I'd rather different series or different parts of the same series do their own things.

Season 3 had Ultra Magnus and Kup and Rodimus as some of the main Autobots; Jazz was only a background robot, Bumblebee appeared less often than earlier seasons, and many other main Autobots were dead or never appeared again. Grimlock still showed up often enough, but even the other Dinobots barely registered. Animated had Bulkhead as one of its Five Man Team members. Age of Extinction had Hound, Drift, and Crosshairs as part of the main group of Autobots. Bumblebee wasn't used for well over a decade in media before the movies came along. Robots in Disguise 2015 featured Autobots like Fixit and Strongarm.

 

I wouldn't consider Shockwave part of a big four. I think the Decepticons just have a big three. Shockwave didn't appear in the show that much with him being on Cybertron...

 

Probably Optimus, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Hot Rod. The first three have been prominent members of most incarnations of the franchise, and Hot Rod has seen exposure in the comics as well as his role as the protagonist of the 86 movie.

 

He wasn't a huge character in the original cartoon. But over the years established his character. Whenever you see a recent Transformers adaptation Shockwave is likely to be in it.
But the big 3 Decepticons are Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave.

 

I'd rank the top 10 most noteworthy "legacy" Autobots as follows: Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Grimlock, Jazz, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Arcee, Hot Rod, and Prowl.

 

Based on the options...

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee are kinda obvious. I mean Bumblebee has appeared almost as much as Starscream has and he literally just got his own movie.

I put Ultra Magnus in there cause I kinda think of him as being the Autobot equivalent of Shockwave... and that's not just because they both recently got leader figures in Siege. I've always felt that way... They both share an alternate mode with their leader, they both have been depicted as leaders in their own right, and yet despite being so similar to Optimus and Megatron they also clearly stand out from them just as much.

The last one was a little harder... though I ultimately decided on Jazz being the equivalent of Soundwave though that role could also go to Blaster except that Blaster wasn't an option in the poll and he doesn't appear in fiction as often as Jazz does.

 

Optimus, Grimlock, Rodimus/Hotrod and Ultra Magnus.

The last spot was tough, but i went with Magnus over Bumblebee, despite his popularity thanks to the movies, but pre-Bayformers i dont think Bee was that big of a character in terms of TF lore.

 

Bumblebee - the go-to friendly Autobot who with the strongest connection to the human allies. People point to his popularity starting with the live-action movies (I'd argue he retained most of the base elements of the original's personality, with his close friendship with the humans and being a bit of a wisecracker for a guy with no voice), but really he was fairly prominent in the G1 cartoon and comic (he was the only original Ark Autobot to manage a speaking role until Prime was resurrected, and he was fairly active in the comics until after the Matrix Quest arc), and subsequent characters like Cheetor and Hot Shot still borrow the same archetype of "friendly yellow guy who's the kid on the team" (Hot Shot is even called "Bumblebee" in the Armada story bible). Even Hot Rod borrows a little from Bee with being the young guy who has to grow up. After Optimus, Bumblebee is the main heroic character in Transformers.

Ratchet - the go-to medical/science type/grumpy old guy ever since Animated kind of assimilated his grumpy medic personality with Kup's cool old guy archetype. Like Bumblebee, he's been in pretty much every new cartoon since the live-action movies brought him back, even putting in a cameo in RID2015 and a mention in the Prime Wars cartoon.

After them and Optimus Prime... it's a bit less clear. Arcee is the go-to female character aside from Windblade, but she was only a main character in Prime and the comics post-Dark Cybertron. A compelling case could be made for either Grimlock (with his appearances in Fall of Cybertron, RID, and Cyberverse) and Ironhide (Movies) for the role of "tough bruiser who's actually a good guy deep down", but the Dinobot leader probably edges out old Irohide. Jazz has had a lot of appearances, but he's either a guest star (RID and Animated) or a hi and die character (Movie). I'd argue that Hot Rod, Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack, Jetfire, and Prowl aren't really prominent enough in modern fiction to qualify. Hot Rod is a side character in his non-comic appearances, Magnus was a main character at the end of Prime but hasn't had a cartoon appearance since, Jetfire isn't a main character in any of the cartoons since the movie, and Animated Prowl - the character's only major appearance so far outside the comics - is far removed from other characters named "Prowl".

 

Actually, I would say it’s Optimus, Grimlock, Bumblebee, and then.....

Windblade. Given Cyberverse is built around the four of them. She’s the fourth. Top ten would definetly include Ratchet, Ironhide, UM, HR, Jazz, and Prowl, but Windblade is the fourth.

 

I think Blaster and Perceptor deserve some consideration. They weren't in the first season but I remember them appearing a lot and demonstrating a lot of characteristic traits in season 2, the movie, and maybe even season 3.

 

For me during the original G1 run, for S1 and 2:

1. Optimus Prime
2. Bumblebee
3. Ironhide
4. Prowl/Jazz

Notable mentions would include Wheeljack and Ratchet - I’m still quite surprised to see both of them in various episodes.

Season 3

1. Rodimus Prime
2. Ultra Magnus
3. Springer
4. Kup

Currently...

1. Optimus Prime
2. Bumblebee
3. Grimlock
4. Sideswipe/Wingblade

Notable mention would be Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime.

 

I'm pretty much going with this list as well. Seems like Jazz for the cartoon, Prowl for media outside the cartoon up till the Rodimus years. For the current years, seems like there's a major push to have Windblade claim that spot in the last couple years, more so than Arcee.

 

Yeah good point on the pushing Windblade over Arcee...no idea why they would do that over an existing and recognisable character.

 

Optimus, Bumblebee, Grimlock, and Arcee.