Axl? hes ok. I have to however, respond to the Dynamo = X plus Zero in a blender... Axl isnt much better off in that respect either.
as to Zero, theres always the "the connection to wily was planned since the beginning"
So while Zero being made by Wily might not have been on the table during X1, by X2, it most definitely was decided. they put in Serges and that Sigma line about him being the last Wily number, and then in X4, outright told us.
Also, on the inafuneless X series bit, X3 isnt exactly the best example of X series either. I love it to death, but it DOES have that large empty room syndrome, or large rooms with only hordes of tiny enemies. The same few enemies were repeated in every stage... the PSX versions controversial music and inconsistant intro animation...
Axl was ok. its more the GAME that is X7 that causes hate, because he was introduced as an X clone without a charge shot, and with a crappy transformation gimmick.
in X8, he was much better, if a bit too Bass, and had the different weapons with different shot types gig. in Command Mission, well, thats a different playstyle, but they played on the idea of his specials being transformations, which is what his special weapons should always have been. Storywise though... Hes a NG prototype, but it hasnt gone beyond that, and isnt as remotely interesting as it could be, in comparison with X or Zero's stories. Perhaps if they dug more into his past, instead of relegating him as nothing more than the one New Gen who ISNT maverick because hes a prototype, he would be more intruiging. Command mission took that track a bit, with him on Gigantis searching for clues as to his origins, and then getting mixed up in X's adventure, eventually finding that the rumers of copy chip production and research were of the second wave of New Gens, Redips and his men. Command Mission Axl IMO was more interesting to me storywise than X7 or 8.