User blog comment:Newgirl101/Ashley and Miranda/@comment-1388547-20111012043338

Hmm. Well, they're both strong women with some abrasive personality traits and a xenophobic bias, but they're pretty close to opposites otherwise, as I see it. Character-wise, Miranda is an upper-class sophisticate who always keeps her cool and has a major superiority complex, while Ashley is from much humbler origins, has a hot temper, and has to deal with the family shame of General Williams' surrender to the turians. Gameplay-wise, Miranda is a supporting character who focuses on powers, while Ashley is a front-line gunslinger.

Of the two, I find Miranda more useful on a mission, but I like Ashley better personally. In ME1 the only reason I brought Ashley along after I got Wrex was for the achievement, while I often include Miranda in my ME2 squad. On the other hand, about half my male ME1 characters romanced Ashley (I find her fairly likeable, though with some substantial character flaws), while I only pursued a romance with Miranda once. (I was particularly put off by Miranda wanting to have sex in the drive room -- the room that's visible from every deck of the ship! That's not an act of love, that's her displaying her conquest to the rest of the crew...)