Nope. You're characterizations of the characters are also why they suck.
Jack dosen't see himself as a tool of the government. Or he didn't. His motivations change with each game. The entire reason he creates Outer Heaven has nothing to do with reseinging himself to fate. After Snake Eater, he feels extremely sour about governments role in Snake Eater(which has changed 2 times now) after the Boss got a raw deal. Thats the entire thing in the cutscene where he refuses to shake the FBI guy's hand is about. Except Kojima couldn't leave that alone, so now we have what 2 maybe three games trying to explain that one cutscene. Either way MGS3 leads us to believe that Big Boss creates Outer Haven because of his respect of the Boss and her ideals. Or did he? If anything here his version of the world is free of government and almost anarchy. MGS4 leads us to believe that for whatever stupid reason all of MGS is some ideological battle between Big Boss and Zero. So actually all this has been a proxy war between Zero and Big Boss who have different interpretations of the Boss' World. Big Boss thinks her world is a world where soldiers are always needed. His determination against government and the Patriots is what earns him the respect of Ocelot, Eva, and others. So was that what Big Boss was about? Because here comes PW and it's PMC nonsense which reveals he actually got over the boss, so forget everything you knew from MGS3. Snake "IS A GUN" and thus now his PMC things are merely weapons for the world. But yet aren't they fighting against Zero and The Patriots take on the Bosses ideas? Who even knows anymore. It was so simple back in MGS3.
Who the fuck knows anymore and why should we care? Big Boss as a character now is awful and convoluted. Dude should have only been in one game.
Also I believe MGS3 Big Boss is as you described a very Blue collar hero. He's kind of dumb, but a man's man. Now he's all sad as well. Big Boss in PW is so damn uninteresting and moody that I have no doubt that MGSV will amp up the moodiness just like MGS4 did, because thats what people like.
Internet fegs: "Man that microwave scene was so traumatic. I could feel Snake's pain!"
Me: "Man wasn't it great when Snake was the boss and had like extreme confidence in MGS2. That scene where he tells Raiden to basically shut up and straight up about the whole "betrayal" thing. Man that dude is a cool character."
Internet fegs: "NO MGS2 SUCKS
Internet fegs: "Man RAIDEN SO COOL NOW FUCKING BADASS!"
ME: " Why because he is all angsty and saying stupid crap like "JACK IS DEAD" or is it because he breakdances on cow robots?"
Internet fegs: "NO HE FUCKING BADASS. HE DOES COOL SHIT. HE's NOT GAY LIKE HE WAS IN MGS2"
ME: Yep the guy that got a girl pregnant was gay. Not the angsty cry baby in MGS4. Man I would have liked to see MGS2 Raiden. The one that was left with Grey Foxes beliefs from Snake. Too bad that didn't happen.
I'm pretty sure MGS5 Big Boss is going to be just as unbearable as every MGS lead has been since MGS3. Thank god for Rising. That was a game where they actually made Raiden cool, because there he realizes "fuck I'm just going to be a dark hero and enjoy this". None of this "woe my family crap".
And man I sure love you're version of Snake. Remember that guy that had a cool arc in MGS1 where he became more human and found a reason to fight as inspired by Grey Fox. Who then passes on these really inspirational "we have to make a future we can pass on to the next generation" and "find something to believe in and fight for" ideologies to Raiden in MGS2. Yes a character that basically created an organizations that puts his life on the line everyday because of those believes. Well that character is now gone in MGS4. Now we have a sad and depressing man and it's really just because he's old. He's facing death, but Solid Snake faces death all the time. Where did cool and inspirational hero go? Now all we have is very old and depressing Snake. What a waste of a character. Kojima couldn't write a character out of what he created for a full game, so he had to make some very contrived arc for the dude. Terrible.