Oddly enough, I actually like Gohan* and Krillin more than I like Goku and Vegeta. Goku/Vegeta would obviously wash them but I could never relate to those guys, just because fighting was all they ever did. Gohan and Krillin were always more interesting to me just because they seemed to the only characters out of the Z-fighters with any actual life goals outside of fighting, like they could throw hands but they were also
people too. (Gohan studying and being a regular kid, and Krillin's girl troubles). They were the first characters I got attached to when I originally started watching the series as a little kid and they were still in the early Namek saga. Also, I like underdogs.
You know, it's funny. Before I had watched enough of it to know the storyline and what was going on as a kid, I had always assumed that Gohan, Krillin, and Bulma were the main characters (with Gohan being the MAIN main character), and that Goku was just Mufasa status (but used to be the main character of the first one). Frieza was the obvious badguy, Vegeta was the secondary badguy with his own agenda, and Piccolo, Yamcha, Tien, and Chaiotzu were just a bunch dead guys who spent their days chilling on King Kai's planet (I didn't even know their names yet
)
Still, Toriyama should have given Krillin and Gohan more shine when they fought against the Ginyu Force. He could have at least let them beat the little fat dude with the four eyes
* I should clarify that I liked Gohan before he grew up and went soft (
)
On an unrelated note, I gained so much respect for Piccolo's swag as I got older.