4. Stan Smith
The heart and soul of American Dad lies with this man. As a matter of fact, he is the American dad that the title references. You could call Stan Smith a laid-back individual, a man that keeps himself to himself, and only ever voices his opinion when rigorously encouraged to do so. And in the same manner, I could call Fernando Torres the most talented, natural-born goal scorer ever to have graced the Premier League. But we'd be lying to ourselves, wouldn't we? Because Stan Smith is perhaps the most outwardly masculine, ultra right wing and destructive human being in the magical world of Cartoon-land. So what makes Mr Smith tick? Well firstly, the overwhelming desire to protect his country no matter what the cost - usually with catastrophically disastrous consequences. It is this patriotic eagerness that prompts Stan to keep a terror alert meter on his fridge, a meter that when turned to orange, evidently means "something might go down somewhere in some way at some point in time." I know I feel safer. It might be his repressed-yet-abundant sensitivity that makes him so endearing to fans of the show. His father never taught him how to ride a bike, and Stan aptly described his broken two-wheeler as an allegory for the lack of his old man's affection ("The streamer's are my tears"). He also went to great lengths in order to help his best friend Brett find God (metaphorically). These lengths included blowing up his house, infecting his restaurant with bird flu, and using CIA technology to turn his wife gay - all to make Brett turn to religion in his time of need (it actually turned him to attempted suicide). Yes, Stan Smith is the extreme, super-confident and suave CIA agent we all wish we were. He may be strikingly crass towards the feelings of others ("Hayley, why are you wearing make-up? You look like a whore"), exceptionally simple minded (God pays twice as much attention on Christmas!"), and wholly irresponsible ("CIA agents are supposed to distribute crack into the inner city, not smoke it!"), but all of this can be forgiven because he's funny! A list of the best AD characters would not be complete without the main Smith man on there somewhere.