Hello, Sonadow Wiki! It's Miles again :] While I always love to get notifications from you and see you on my dash, I have to admit that what you said here rubbed me the wrong way. It bothered me all night and into the morning, so I've got to say something!
I'd like to preface this big long response I'm about to make with saying that I'm only putting in the effort because I respect you. Any criticism I levy is because I deeply admire the work and dedication you both put into research and into the Sonadow Wiki. Please, don't take anything I say as an attack!!
Amy Rose is not "selfish" and "mean", she is immature.
I believe you are not only wrong about Amy Rose, but biased (to use your own word) against her. This could be for many reasons, but as far as I can tell, you have let your time in the fandom around toxic fans color your interpretation of the character, instead of the text itself. This is understandable and I will not hold it against you, but it's rather upsetting to see, especially from such well-researched people. To prove my point and hopefully get you back on track, I'll be going over Amy's character in this response. I will also mostly focus on Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, because I consider them to be the best examples of each characters' intended personalities.
I'll begin with the elephant in the room: her love for Sonic. From day one, it has been established that Amy's adoration for Sonic comes from admiration.
"With all those time stones, I bet you'll try to outrun time itself!" Princess Sally* sighed in adoration.
Here's a quote from the manual where Amy (*misidentified as Princess Sally) admires Sonic for his speed and ambition. However, if we were to disregard the manual and look at Amy through a modern lens, most would say her affection started when Sonic saved her.
This is further shown in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, where she calls Sonic her "hero".
AMY: Gee, I'm bored. Every day's the same old thing... Same place, different day... I miss the good old days. Hangin' out with my hero, Sonic... ... There was always something fun to do with Sonic around. I really miss him.
AMY: I knew you would save me, Sonic. You're my hero!
AMY: I know, but I'm here to save my hero, Sonic!
Amy's love for Sonic is rooted in a deep admiration, one which she expresses through overwhelming unrequited love. He is her hero and she wants to be both like him and with him. This love is so bold because she is an immature little girl, not because she's a "selfish" person who doesn't care about Sonic's boundaries. She simply isn't mature enough to recognize them yet.
She also cares about his opinion of her and if she's doing enough to be independent, as shown by these quotes from Sonic Adventure:
AMY: I wonder what Sonic is doing... He's always rescuing me, it seems. I should be more independent.
AMY: Just watch me. I'll make that Sonic respect me!
We KNOW she's not a selfish person because of her interactions with other characters. First, her story screens ("screens [that] provide a short story summary about the selected character") and dialogue from Sonic Adventure, where she takes it upon herself to protect a bird from Eggman:
(These are from DX, I'm unaware if the story screens were changed between the versions.)
I'm Amy Rose, a cute and cheerful girl! One day, I was walking down the street and saw that evil Eggman's flying fortress! Then this sweet little bird flew out and Eggman's mean robot was chasing after it! Oh, no! OK, birdie! Put your trust in me! I'll protect you and never let them hurt you! But... just to be on the safe side... Maybe I should look for a bodyguard?
AMY: That was one of Eggman's robots. Huh? He must've captured you, and somehow you got away, right? Don't worry. I'll protect you. I'll do my best to keep us both from harm, I'll stand by you all the way.
And once she found Sonic, her attention was first on protecting the bird and then on romantic options with Sonic:
I'm Amy Rose, a cute and cheerful girl! Oh, I am so lucky today! There's Sonic! He'll make the perfect bodyguard! I'm too cute to resist, after all! I can't believe how lucky I am today! The sign at Twinkle Park says there is a special for cute couples! Of course we have to go! Well... where's Sonic?? I lost sight of him!! Oh, what should I do?!
After being captured, she offers to be friends with Gamma the second she sees he won't hurt her.
GAMMA: Go, escape!
AMY: Wh-what? You sure?
GAMMA: It's dangerous here. Hurry. We'll be at the Mystic Ruins base soon.
AMY: You're really nice. You're different from the other robots. You've got a soft spot inside your metal frame. If you want, we can be friends, okay?
She also stops Sonic from hurting Gamma, despite him only helping her out once and also directly responding to Eggman just a scene before:
Then, she encourages him to leave Eggman and be free (+ a bonus of her caring about Sonic's well-being as well)
[The Egg Carrier suddenly starts shaking.]
TAILS: The Egg Carrier's losing altitude!
SONIC: We're fresh outta time! Take Amy and clear out, fast!
AMY: What about you?
SONIC: I'll nail that Eggman! Can't let him escape!
[Sonic goes after Robotnik.]
AMY: I knew you would save me, Sonic. You're my hero! [To Gamma] Uhhh, you okay? It's dangerous here. Don't pay attention to Eggman anymore. Free yourself. Come on!
GAMMA: Why are you helping me?
AMY: I said we'd be friends and I'm returning your favor. Even this birdie wants you to be free. Eggman's not the kind of person you should work for.
TAILS: Amy, come on! Let's get going!
AMY: Until we meet again, Mr. Robot! Take care of yourself!
Later, she immediately volunteers to help the bird find its family once she learns they've been captured. It's more important to her than talking/thinking about Sonic.
AMY: Does Eggman have them captive now?
AMY: I bet he does! So, I'll help you find your family. I've come this far. I may as well go all the way! That Robot said Dr. Eggman's base is in the Mystic Ruins. So, what d'ya say we check it out?
I'm Amy Rose, a cute and cheerful girl! I just knew he would come! Why does he play so hard to get? I suppose it doesn't matter, but... What? Is your family in trouble? Eggman has captured them?? Well, don't worry! Let's go and find them. That robot said something about a base somewhere in Mystic Ruins... Didn't he? Hmmm, I wonder if that robot is OK? You know, I am sure I will see him again.
After there's no sign of the bird's family at Mystic Ruins/Final Egg, she volunteers to go BACK to the Egg Carrier to look there.
AMY: Whew! That was a close one! I saw no sign of your relatives, birdie! Ohhhhh! You escaped from the Egg Carrier! So maybe your family's still in there. Let's investigate. Wanna?
I'm Amy Rose, a cute and cheerful girl! We went to Eggman's base, but we couldn't find birdie's family. I wonder if they are still trapped somewhere on the Egg Carrier?? Possibly... Although it's definitely not a place I want to visit again, I am not the type of girl that gives up easily! Let's find a way to sneak back on to the Egg Carrier again!
Moving on to Sonic Adventure 2:
Amy plays less of a role in this story, but I believe her role is incredibly important.
I'd like to point out that the first instance of her trying to get Sonic to marry her (that I know of) is her being silly. This is silly. If you don't understand how this is silly banter and she is not being serious, I don't know how to help you.
Now, the important part, her conversation with Shadow.
Amy is the reason Shadow turns to the side of good in the end. Her words remind him of Maria and the true promise he made to her, and he makes a new promise to Amy right then to give them (the people of Earth) a chance. To say that Amy is "selfish and mean" is to discount the emotional weight of the promise Shadow makes to her, one he only makes because of her compassion, which I believe is a disservice to both of their characters.
To make another point about her relationships: Sonic worries about Amy. He sees it as his job to protect her when she's around or to save her when she gets into trouble, as shown by the story screens. That's why he leaves her behind, much to her chagrin. In turn, she admires and adores him, and wants him to respect her. She wants to be more independent so Sonic won't leave her and doesn't feel burdened by her. Her love is immature and a tad overbearing, but pure. He finds her/her affection a little weird, but she's his friend and he cares about her.
I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! Oh no, it's Amy! Why did I have to run into her now? Wherever I go, danger seems to follow. She doesn't seem to care about that, though. She follows me anywhere I go. So I have to protect her... A bird? A bodyguard? Well, now that I can handle, but... Hmmm... I wonder if she is involved in any trouble again??
I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! I can't believe I lost Amy... Was she captured by the robot that was following us? I just knew Amy was going to cause me trouble like this! But I just can't ignore what's happened. Amy, where did they take you?? Where should I start looking for her?
I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! I raced all over the midnight highway, but I couldn't find Amy anywhere. Amy is not around here... Where on earth are you, Amy!? I suppose I should have a look around Station Square again?
AMY: Ahhhhh!
SONIC: Now what's wrong?! Huh?
AMY: Look! It says cute couples can get in free! What are we waiting for?
SONIC: Amy! Wai-wai-wai-wait! I give up. She's so weird!
You CANNOT understand why Sonic and Shadow's relationship is special if you don't understand the relationship they have with other characters, and those other characters themselves, in the first place.
The problem is that Amy's character is inconsistent and rife with misogynistic tropes. She's made into the damsel-in-distress, the tsundere, or the "mature girl surrounded by idiotic boys"; her interests are often only "shopping" and "love". Newer writers (such as these "biased employees") are trying their hand at fixing these mistakes in her writing/original concepts, but end up making her a different character entirely and losing the charm of what made her Amy Rose. Amy is not supposed to be a "mean" girl, a tsundere, or an overzealous stalker-type. She's also not supposed to be a mature girl, a girl who can handle everything, or a girl who leads.
She is a girl who is compassionate and friendly, who reaches out to others and touches their hearts, and who admires Sonic the Hedgehog so much she'll follow him to the ends of the Earth (whether he likes it or not). She gets left behind because she can't handle everything herself yet, and because Sonic doesn't want to put her in danger or have to save her from it, and that upsets her. I genuinely don't think she's been written correctly in over 20 years, and that makes me sad.
I'm not asking either of you to like her, but this is a sincere request to at least tone down the hate and approach her objectively. It's rather grating to see things like "Amy is a mean and selfish character" and that she isn't "kind and for justice", because these things are just false.