I get the drift -- giving 'em a goal that they can explain away to themselves (and thusly to us!) as being perfectly logical and the right thing to do.

I will have to think on that, for sure. For my guys (at least the smarmster and the grudge-holder) a lot of what they think is the right thing to do isn't so much a noble thing, as that they're looking out for #1... and sometimes failing miserably at it. It's hard to take that perspective and make it seem like a good protagonist point of view. XD At least for me!