For M, I think the biggest point is that he’s not just sex and anger. There’s more underneath that you can catch glimpses of here and there, the fact that M’s level of loyalty to A, F, and N is extremely high, likely higher than you can conceive (well, I can conceive it because I’ve written similar characters). It’s just a matter of getting beneath the surface to see it, which will be a long and arduous process taking most of the series. But my guess is that you’ll get hints of it here and there. You already got a hint in the demo, when M vamps out to protect the MC–I doubt that would be a reaction they had to anyone but the team and the MC.
For A… it’s not that he’s just an asshole with no sense of humor. He’s in love with the MC–he’s just so fucking tight-assed that he refuses to show it or give into it.
For N and F, there is clearly more to them that what they show. For them, it’s likely some tortured past that they managed to overcome, but also some seriousness from F (which you see in the demo when they say they want to get better to protect the MC).
So I don’t think it’s as simple as you said. People are, most times, more than what you see from them in the beginning. It’s just that getting to see that “more” is going to take a very long time for the “asshole” characters.
I really don’t feel like we’re forced into submission with any of the ROs. Even with M, the shy MCs aren’t submissive, they’re just… well, shy, and thankfully, you don’t have to go that route.
The part that bugs me is the forced emotion and the lack of distinction between sexually bold and emotionally bold. My MC with M is just as blunt and willing to have a one-nighter with him (and would, at this point, flat out ask, “So are we gonna bang or what?”), but she has A’s level of emotional constipation, so when the auto-dialog kicks in, I fear she’ll be forced to be emotionally direct (and worse, being shown as desperately and hopelessly in love with someone who has no interest outside of banging her like a Salvation Army drum on occasion), and that is not her. Plus, she’s oblivious about emotions, so being forced to feel something takes me out of the story.
What, in particular, makes you feel like the MC is forced to be submissive? Hell, if the MC is forced into submission to anyone I think it’s with Rebecca, and that really pisses me off. I so want to be able to tell her to go fuck herself when she gets bossy and/or protective with the MC.