Heh, I think it was just an over-use of 6, made the same character crop up a few too many times.

I dunno, I think Esme was still plenty Granny-ish, even as a younger woman. And it would also depend on whether she met Mal pre- or post-Serenity Valley. Veronica, Sherlock, Mal, and Claude are all such strong characters- I really am not sure how they'd play off each other, in any combination.