I don't know who I should save on Virmire anymore

If Ashley wasn't so utterly boring and one-note in ME3, the choice would be a lot more difficult.

First couple times I always went back back to the bomb site, ensuring the bomb's detonation was Shepard's highest priority then. Without Shepard's aid the bomb's location would be quickly overrun leaving it to be disarmed by the Geth.

I didn't interpreted the choice initially as 'Save Ashley vs Save Kaidan' but Rather 'Save people vs Save bomb'. On that note The Normandy probably could have taken out the exposed breeding trenches with an airstrike, heck even Salarians + Normandy crew would have enough firepower to demolish the facility and destroy all research.

I wish they would have kept the option to save both. Sounds like it would have been a challenging, interesting scenario.

It had the exact opposite effect on me. It had no emotional impact for me because of how forced the whole thing felt. Not only was there no option to save both despite there being ways to do it even if hard, but Shepard doesn't even seem to really want to save both and instead immediately is "ok, bye person I chose to die". The whole thing was drama for drama's sake. 

I disagree entirely. ME2 was better for the exact reasons you say Virmire was better: Shepard facing the hard reality of combat leadership where if you make a mistake people die because of it. And unlike Virmire, they weren't forced. Overall though I'd say ME3 does the best character deaths, even though ironically those are the ones where you have no say. 

I don't. Most of them were unnecessary. 

Ashley. Yo bro. Yah dead.

Kaidan. Every time.

I have never even attempted a trilogy run where I save Ash. Did not like her character. I've even watched playthroughs of ME3 where Ash lives and it just made me more certain never to save her.

From a gameplay standpoint, Kaidan is more useful, at least to me. Especially in ME3, since I always play as a soldier, I have zero use for Ash since I have tank soldier James, who I also found to be an infinitely more likable and worthwhile character than Ash ever was. Kaidan as a sentinel I have much use of, plus he compliments other squadmates better I find.

That latter point as well is worth saving Kaidan from a story point as well for me, since I find Kaidan gets on so much better with everyone in both ME1 and 3. He has more meaningful encounters and interactions with the rest of the squad and crew in ME3. He isn't aloof or hostile like Ash always seems to be. Her trust issues in ME3 seemed more heightened than Kaidan's were, and I always felt she'd easily trust Udina a hell lot more than Kaidan would.

There are just so many reasons why I would never save Ash, and always save Kaidan. Him being my BroRyder's space boyfriend is an obvious cincher.

Also from a Virmire gameplay standpoint, I always have Kaidan with the bomb, and Ash at the AA Tower. I still always save Kaidan at the bombsite, cause you still end up saving Kirrahe and the salarians providing you fulfilled all the previous criteria in the mission to save them. I also feel the confrontation with Saren is more dramatic and exciting at the bombsite with the running water, and the bomb being right there etc. Sure logically being at the AA tower would make better sense, but it doesn't really matter to me since I'm always just going to save Kaidan anyways.

That said, I really, really hope we don't get a Virmire situation in Andromeda, or there to be this sort of thing with Liam or Cora. I want to like both characters this time around, which I've tried to do with Ash, but there is just nothing about her I like. And Kaidan is my favourite Mass Effect character so even if I did like Ash a bit, I'd still never save her.

wait wuut?


 I obviously meant BroShep sorry, I've been so used to BroRyder lately I completely forgot oh wow

yeah same here I think I tend to save Ash most of the time as well although I can and do play both ways. Sometimes I pick based on what my Shepards class is and sometimes depending on how I think the story best plays out dramatically. In my current playthrough I saved Ash although my next Shep is going to be soldier class so Ash won't be neccesarily be needed so I'll likely go Kaidan. I think for my infiltrator run as well I was  thinking of doing I might keep him to as that Shep may well romance him. As I've got 2/3 playthrough's planned a male soldier, a female infiltrator and a male vanguard. Not sure what I'll do with the vanguard yet though as I haven' treally though much about that playthrough as I've only really not that long ago decoided to do it.

Ashley because she's the best character in ME1.

My choice on that is simple.

I leave behind person A for the sake

SPOILER: Click to show

...of being able to kill person B later myself.

That sounds like little bit of an extreme but there are no pros and cons to killing either, that is why I let my guts choose the person I want to see perish into dust.

Ashley by all rights is an asset, effective but noisy...
Were it not for her constant butt-riffle attitude and the incredible xenophobia then I may have considered alternate outcomes to this situation. And after saving the galaxy three times between our last meetings her only change is prostitution hairstyle... Nothing else...

Kaidan on the other end is a peak description of being useless to me...
I am not sure who of us two is having more headaches after a conversation, maybe me because having to listen to his plot developments is like eating a raw waffle out of the blender.
In-between having to save the galaxy thrice, he neither seems to change in any other way than using more hairgel...

Without further delay, here are my conclusions :

Shot through the hearth~
Ashley Williams !

I'm nuclear, I'm wild~
Kaidan Alenko !

You are DEAD, everybody say YOU ARE DEAD~
Wrex !

I didn't care for Kaiden at all the first time so that's why I had him die. Then, I decided to saved Ashley because I was doing a playthrough of the trilogy where I made different decisions. I decided to switch back and forth for every playthrough, so that's why I saved Kaiden again in my current playthrough. I'm going to romance Ashley in my 4th playthrough.