I can see that happening. By the way, how popular are characters such as Feng, Panzerfaust, and Aeon are right now compared to Minette?
Minette is definitely still the most popular of that group.
I think Feng would be the most popular after Minette (with Marie the most popular current NPC).
After that, I am not really sure. Like I said above, all the really popular IGG characters are already playable, so it's difficult for me say for the rest. Brain Drain is likely the most popular remaining male character, outdoing Panzerfaust, Adam, Isaac, Stanley and the rest. Also, Brain Drain is certainly the most plot important male character who is currently a potential addition to the roster.
Aeon might still rank high in a popularity contest, but I think a lot of her backing in the polls was because of her proposed gameplay sounded amazingly crazy. I could see Venus beating her in just raw popularity, though, along with some others like Mrs. Victoria, Molly (thanks to the Twitter account), Scythana and the aforementioned Minette and Feng.