And to do them proper service, they should have adventure and drama poured over them with a bounteous hand. Any automaton can stumble through a simple mystery plot, for instance, identifying an wrongdoer and restoring the balance of good and evil. A drop of blood-reality in the pearl of artifice. Because the truth is, we all have unsolvable problems. Some are worse than others, granted, but we all have to deal with them.
People are quadriplegics, or diabetics, or alcoholics, or just butt-ugly.
They're afraid of more things than I can possibly list here. They've lost opportunities that will haunt them the rest of their lives. They've humiliated themselves in front of their friends and enemies. They're dancers who've trained ruthlessly for years, only to begin to suspect they will always be second-rate. They yearn to be part of a pair but keep finding themselves frustrated and alone.