Of course, in an ensemble show of this nature, there are some episodes when a character won't appear, or will only have a few lines. Yet the writers will try to get each of the characters their own episodes. In the sequence I've just watched, O'Brien was the main character in one ["Whispers"] and was one of two main characters in the other two ["Armageddon Game" and "Paradise."]
Why would the writers choose Miles O'Brien to fill the second chair in a two-character story? Is it because he's an alien with a strange power or cultural difference to serve as an alternate viewpoint? No, he's not. He's a "typical" human. And that's the point. He's the Everyman that we want to be. He's a family man. He's in love with his wife. He's relied on for his ingenuity and yet he wasn't formally trained to be the Chief Engineer he is now. He's loyal and strong willed, and a good judge of character.
That kind of person makes a good buddy, a good mentor, a good hero. You know what you're getting with Miles Edward O'Brien, and you want him to succeed.
Of course, no good character in TV or movies could live up to their full potential without an actor capable of imbuing the fiction with a living personality, and Colm Meaney does just that.
One of the primary reasons it is often considered the best of the Star Trek series, dramatically, is that DS9 is home to many characters worth watching. Miles O'Brien is among them.
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