"Has a character (not actor) ever suggested a direction to you that you
didn't take, but later on seemed like the direction you should have taken?
I would think they would all be fighting for screen-time, or is that just
some actors?"

Not really, mainly because if my subconscious mind is sufficiently up in
arms about something as to throw a fictional character at me and yell at
me, it's usually a sign that I should Shut The Hell Up And Do As I'm Told.
So when it happens, I *very* rarely ignore it.


jms