Leia was fantastic; I loved her spunk and intelligence and how well she could handle herself. I find it disappointing that all people remember in that bikini scene is how hot she looked when she killed Jabba herself. That was badass.

Padme in the prequels was also a really nice character (despite the problems with the films) and I appreciated her more on rewatch. Especially in TPM.

I can't say I'm not glad to have a Star Wars film with a female lead, but I agree, it isn't a competition, it's just... Well, nice. I adored Leia as a kid, but I'm glad kids these days have a hero like Rey.