the different heros and greats have been compared and it's difficult to decide who is the best, as HYS said, half a pound and six ounces to one another. so what decides who will win, luck or lady luck. some of the heroes have survived because of their lovers aid, guo jing aided by huang rong, Zhang wuji aided by zhao min, yang guo fought alongside xiao longnu. linghu chong had ren yingying's help. the other greats had their wives and lovers too, xiao feng had ah zu, at least for a while. duan yu had his 'sisters/cousins early in the novel to pull him out of trouble. XuZhu had his maids and his princess. which of these ladies was the greatest help to her man?