Ron is very irritating at times, but who isn't during puberty? The Potter series is not the same as Archie comics. Potter and his friends go through growing pains and seasons of life. Archie and his friends are caricatures from the start... Archie is the boy next door, Betty is nice, Veronica is a snob, Reggie is a jerk, Moose is a musclehead, Dilton is a brain. Those kids never change. But Ron does.
He's kind, courageous, adventuresome, and faithful at his best. He's lazy, self-asorbed, manipulative, and spiteful at his worst. We view the progression of his character through the series because Ron is Harry's best friend. We see Ron's family... he's constantly compared to his elder brothers Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, and Fred. Which of his five brothers will he emulate? Bill and Charlie are stand up guys. Percy is a prat. George and Fred are loose cannons. It seemed to me that Ron was mostly a blend of Bill and Percy... which one would he follow? If he followed Bill, then Harry would have an easier time of it, but if Ron became another Percy then Harry might be done for.
The entire series was published before I picked it up. I'd heard about the themes, the setting, and the theology. I wondered if Ron would play Sam or Boromir to Harry's Frodo. Would Ron abandon Harry or betray him? Or would Ron hang in there all the way to Mount Doom?
How much fun would it be if Ron was Dick Grayson aka Robin? Batman's sidekick is honest, organized, prepared, athletic, intelligent, resourceful, brave, obedient, and trusting. Robin never talks back nor second guesses the Caped Crusader. Of course Batman always won, if he'd been saddled with Ron then the Joker would have killed Batman by the end of WWII. Robin is basically a cross between Lassie and the Robot from Lost in Space.
The point is that Rowling has tried to give us more than just a caricature. Ron got on the train collecting wizard cards. In a few years, he's forgotten them and is looking for girls to snog. I wonder how many times adults wanted to smack me when I was an adolescent? I'm thankful that they trusted that I'd stop being a hairball and grow up.
I think Hermione and Ginny are less realistic than Ron. They have more of Robin's qualities and fewer of Ron's flaws.