I don't care for Liara as a character, and I strongly dislike the assumptive nature of her relationship to Shepard.
Even so, I don't see how anybody can say that her "gift" is a rape - Shepard *can* refuse.
But it's definitely a "Psycho Hose Beast" scenario for Shepards who aren't close to her, though. (Ref link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch)
As for some people's ingratitude about her "rescue," the problem is that Liara's motivations were contingent on an intimate bond with Shepard. In fact, that's supposedly Miranda's reason for recruiting her in the first place - which seems silly to me; any high-level agent (like Feron, or even Miranda, herself) would've and could've retrieved Shepard's body without said "bond."
I'm actually not opposed to Liara's plot significance, but it should've stayed relationship-neutral. Like: After Shepard dies, Liara looks for evidence on the Reapers to convince the Council (or her own government) to take action. At some point she's starts looking at Collector activity, and her investigation crosses paths with Miranda, Feron, and the Shadow Broker. From that point on, her arc could've played out almost exactly the same way as it did.
Character-wise, I would've preferred her "hardening" to be a more subtle transition: less badass action-hero and more regretfully stoic survivor. Elaine Barrish from "Political Animals" (played by Sigourney Weaver) is a great character example. (Ref link of awesome scene:
www.youtube.com/watch)
***Answer to OP***
My Colonist / War Hero Adept Sheploo went with Jack.