Now of course there are tons of choices here, but I'm particularly interested in people's opinion of these two.

Peregrin Took or Meriadoc Brandybuck: Who is the better Hobbit?

Peregrin Took has held the titles Thain of the Shire, Guard of the Citadel (of Gondor), and Knight of Gondor.

The more courageous and daring of the two Hobbits.

He served as a distraction in Moria by stabbing the cave troll in the neck allowing Legolas to finish him with 2 arrows to the neck and head.

He warned Gandalf of Denthor's impending burning of Faramir, thus saving his life.

He also became the first Hobbit to kill a Olag-Hai, a genetically modified mountain troll from Mordor.

However, he was the one who dropped the stone (in the novel) into the well in Moria warning the trolls of their presence. He also fell under the spell of Sauron by looking into the Palantir, alerting Sauron of their location.

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Meriadoc Brandybuck has held the titles Master of Buckland and Esquire of Rohan.

The more intelligent and perceptive of the two Hobbits.

He began planning the Fellowships route from Rivendell after the forming of the fellowship.

He fought bravely alongside Eowyn at the siege of Gondor, cutting the the Witch-king of Angmar with his enchanted Barrow-blade given to him by Tom Bambadil (the movie got this all wrong.) It is unsure whether this wound killed the Witch-king or whether it simply destroyed the magic that would have protected him from Eowyn's blow to the face.

Merry was also given the Horn of Rohan which he used, alongside Pippen, in the Battle of Bywater, cleansing the shire of Saruman.

Merry was the one who suggested the Hobbits take the shortcut through the Old Forest where they were almost killed by "awakened" trees, only to be saved by Tom Bambadil.

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So who is your favorite Hobbit?

I listened to the Hobbit on CD.. by the end I wanted to go Vlad Tepes on the whole lot. Seriously, wake up a sleeping dragon, steal his gold, then tear ass and let the town deal with the aftermath?

Between Merry and Pippen, Pippen was a more entertaining character to read about, but as far as virtue goes I would say Merry because he did not goof off and tried to advise them on their route as well as possible (in the beginning when it was just the 4 hobbits).

But overall I would have to say bilbo because I enjoyed the Hobbit so much and since that book strictly focuses in him and his views he seems very relatable. and if it were not for him the ring might never have been found for a while (or worse could have been found by somebody with bad intentions).

Sam all the way!

*Disclaimer: I am a HUGE Tolkien nerd....if I have a daughter, she will probably end up with something from the land of Middle Earth. Just sayin'.

With you, FloridaGirl; Sam. No contest.