Jake is definitely my favorite character in Homestuck and i can't say i'm surprised that a lot of people don't like him? cowardice is a part of his character, even his pre-scratch self shares these behaviors, if you've ever read the Skaianet Files. because of that i think it's really easy for people to forget that he's a teenager - not some heroic casanova.. he does care deeply about his friends and what they think of him, it's just very easy for him to fall back on bad habits (i.e isolation & lying to himself) even if he's aware of this on some level

it also doesn't really help that people rarely think of Jake outside of Dirk & Jane, even if he is very connected to those two.

i really do hope that in HS^2 that we see more of him taking action and come into his own. i'm cheering him on :P!