I disagree. Hayden is 500% worse.
I believe that's what Rick is for. He starts out as a moralistic guy having a hard time letting go of...politeness & good manners...and he's slowly morphing into something ... that's not what he was before. Dale and Shane are to show the extremes as a counterpoint to what Rick was/is becoming. Will he end up like Shane in the end, or will he hold on to his humanity...or something inbetween. That sort of thing.
But yeah....the 1st half the 2nd season largely svcked - that whole Sophie plotline was a snoozefest. It gets better during the 2nd half.
Rick is definitely one of the most interesting characters right now. From what we saw in that last episode, he may continue to go the way of the comics, which will be especially interesting seeing as Dale isn't around in the TV show any more.
Also, Andrea. She has real potential to me. She's shown that she's not just some damsel in distress, is able to view this post apocalyptic world in a more realistic light than (pre-finale) Rick, but with a humanity that Shane lacked, and now there's the prospect that she'll feel abandoned by the group - plus she's going to be travelling with a legitimate badass for at least a while (if she lives). I really, really hope they keep her on in the next series.