Personally I'm all for what the Alliance is and what they stand for, and I'm on very good terms with them
But damn I want that imperial courier coming up in the next update, darn Empire tempting me with delectable goodies and superior trading systems...
Feds I guess would be the "easiest" to go for since a lot of people start around there and they're probably the largest, not to say they're as "bad" as Empire ethics-wise (based on what we believe now) but I'm rather indifferent to them, if not a little bit against their archaic authoritarian attitudes
How does everyone else feel about their allegiance with the "Big three"?
Well, I have two CMDR's (two accounts).
One mirrors my attitudes a bit more than the other. He's Alliance. Very much the "Don't Tread on Me" type. Takes individual liberty very seriously. Doesn't really follow anyone, but will stand up for those being bullied. Hates pirates. Is a jack of all trades, sometimes he does hauling or trading, sometimes he hunts bounties, sometimes he explores. Accepts working with the Federation sometimes as a necessary evil, but doesn't like it. He thinks they're worse than the Empire, actually... the Empire is at least honest about what it is.
The other is born and raised Imperial. Her story in my head is that her family was very wealthy nobility... but ran up massive debt and ended up as slaves. She avoided that because the person who bought her family thought she was too young to have been responsible for any of that (he was pretty much right), so he helped set her up with decent schooling and when she was old enough he gave her a ship so she could try to make her own fortune. Because of these experiences, she believes in the Imperial system - when it's done right. She detests Torval because Torval wants to scrap all the good parts of that system and only keep the parts that serve her needs. She has serious misgivings about Patreus, who she thinks is in it only for himself. So she's staying loyal to Princess Arissa and helping out as she can.
As for me... well, I think the Alliance is the best of the three factions, from a rights-of-the-individual perspective... and the Federation is the worst. The Federation claims to detest slavery, but it's rampant, and they do very little about it. The Federation is all about conformity, and doing what you're told. The Empire is more about personal honor, which allows more freedom than the Federation's legalism, but that honor can be manipulated to dangerous ends.
There are no "white hats", though the Alliance is probably closest to that, and no "black hats", either. All the factions have problems. On the surface, the Empire looks worse than the Federation, but that's because the Federation tries very hard to sweep its dirt under the rug, and I think if it was all exposed it would be clear where the worst evils lie.
).