What kind of character do you usually gravitate towards in an RPG?

I like to be a Melee/Caster. 
Get up and close to deal with the mages and blast some magic at the warriors.

Always thief.

I love the archer class, so thief would be the closest. Though I'm not a big fan of the "sneaky" archer.

Typically, I'll either play a rogue or a mage. I don't like fighters, I find them boring.

Really depends on the RPG. I really like to play a stealthy archer in games like Oblivion, FO3/NV (but, you know, with sniper rifles). On MMOs or point-and-click RPGs (Diablo, Titan Quest, etc.), I prefer a sword-and-shield build.

the hot ones

Melee/Caster, if possible.

I play as myself. I ask myself, in this game's world, if I were forced to physically defend myself day in day out, what would that look like. Then I pick which ever I think is closest to that.

Sorcerer, mage, magician, siren, summoner, etc.

the hot ones

Caster, unless it sucks in that game.

Of strict definitions I prefer magic users over melee users. But ideally I like melee casters or some combination of thief and caster. Quick is better than strong.

I typically have been going for more of the melee type but am wanting to be more of a magic user. Me and a buddy just started playing Diablo II and while he picked to be a Necromancer, I went ahead and choose the Warrior or Paladin, whatever the name is, so as to balance the game out some.

Thief. I like sneaking around and messing stuff up.

Melee, often with full plate, sword and shield.

Over the years I've been a sword and shield kinda guy, and I still tend to end up with those sort of characters now and then. But I've recently discovered the joys of being able to sneak, steal and pick locks, and my last few RPG-characters have been of thief-like quality. I almost never play magic-users, managing mana is such a boring task and I prefer RPG's that tone down the whole magic theme. Magic is kinda stupid. It's tolerable, at best.

I love the archer class, so thief would be the closest. Though I'm not a big fan of the "sneaky" archer.

Usually the warrior type guy or the most balanced

I like a good caster, either a mage or a combination mage/healer. actually i tend to gravitate to the jack of all trades types. in wow these are the paladins/druids

Bard.

I usually just go for the all around character.

It seems like you have to play as Warrior to really make it through a lot of games without the risk of finding yourself crippled by your choice at some point. I say this, because it seems like almost all RPGs are designed with the Warrior in mind above all others and other classes are usually afterthoughts.

I usually go with an agile melee character, but not exactly a 'thief' per se. I would label that as melee/thief.

Before actually reading the OP's description, I thought characterization was what was being referenced, not character class... Despite all that though, I'm not much of a general RPG fan, though I voted caster... When I considered things more thoroughly, I guess my most natural instinct is probably a melee character, though like someone else had referenced within this thread I guess abstractly I'd prefer to be more of a caster, as they have more combat effectiveness and control later on...
 
Once again, my experience is probably limited contrasted with most other people posting here, as the only RPGs I've played heavily would be Runescape, (yes I know that'll seem ridiculous to most of you, though I played it at the least about 8 years ago, so I was young to say the least) the Diablo games, although I consider it more of a shooter despite popular consensus Mass Effect, and Final Fantasy VII (and although I played it for a pretty lengthy amount of time, I didn't even fully play it through).

I like not dying, so I normally go for shield and sword warrior first play through then mage 2nd.

Always thief.

I generally prefer melee, but in MMOs in particular I like classes that use a mixture of casting and melee.

I really need to stop going with melee characters because I usually find them boring at the end. Casters usually end up being my favorite characters.

Melee type characters.  I just like getting in peoples faces and bashing their skulls in.

It depends. If it's single player that I gravitate toward a mace and shield melee dude. But if it's multiplayer, then I always go for a mage or healer. 

first time mostly meele, healer is boring though oddly enough i allways play healer when i play a mmorpg well allways meaning 2 games

I usually go for the casters. Though ideally, I try to get in some melee ability as well is possible - usually though, it's more effective to just min/max the caster abilities.

In some games though, I've had to choose something else. Dragon Age has made me play all sorts of classes, because I wanted specific NPCs in my party and needed to fill a necessary role myself. Also, in some games I've had to play non-caster due to the difficulty/playability - I played ME 1&2 through as a Soldier and Infiltrator. In Puzzle Quest I didn't do all that well, until I switched to a Knight. In Witcher, I spent most of my points in melee skills.

So it really depends. I'm a caster at heart, but I'll punch dudes if I really have to.

I try and switch it up, but I usually avoid warrior/soldier classes who can just brute force through the game. I find that boring.