OMG, this brought back memories for me! When I was in 7th grade, the 8th grade girls on my softball team LOVED Top Gun and insisted we all have call signs. The two superstars who were best friends (and both of whom ended up playing Division 1 softball!) were Maverick and Goose (of course).

As one of the younger ones on the team, I hadn't even seen Top Gun at the beginning of the season. They insisted I watch it, especially since they assigned me the Merlin call sign. Cool call sign, not as cool character. LOL. Anyhow, I don't think I can rank call signs without thinking about the characters, too, but I still agree with you, Viper is the best (plus I liked his character).