Looking for noble characters in Grand Theft Auto 5 is like looking for needles in a haystack. Los Santos is a wasteland devoid of morality and brimming with excess. Those who are sober are likely teeming with narcissism and vanity while those who aren't sober are well, they make up the general population. But even so, GTA 5 has some diamonds in the rough.
Some characters are kind enough to be considered friends or allies. In a game where criminal activity is as natural as breathing, these characters are the oasis in the desert, the sanctuary in Los Santos' moral apocalypse. Sure enough, players will do well to treasure the interactions with these characters as they make Los Santos a bit more bearable.
8 Johnny Klebitz
Poor Johnny Klebitz was not only relegated to the role of a minor character but also got killed like a pedestrian despite being a former GTA protagonist in earlier games. Those who know him in his own game, Grand Theft Auto 4: The Lost and Damned, are well aware that Johnny has his own code.
He doesn't kill unless necessary (and unless the player wants him to kill) and he has a sense of fairness. This crushed him after finding out that his girlfriend is a wayward junkie who cheated on him with Trevor. His "death" was also rather traumatic and somehow goes to show that Rockstar doesn't like to give good endings to people who aren't violent (anymore).
7 Michael De Santa
It's debatable, sure, but Michael is too conflicted a character to lump up with genuinely evil bad guys. Even before he underwent witness protection, Michael had his own rules and moral compass. He never killed out of pleasure or spite and remained a collected and rational individual, especially when dealing with bank guards and potential collateral damage in heists.
In fact, the only person Michael betrayed (that didn't involve player decisions) is Trevor. It's understandable why he did. Almost everyone would want to betray Trevor as he's too loose a cannon. He has seen better days and is in dire need of psychiatric help, but Michael still has some nobility left in him.
6 Dave Norton
Dave Norton is the person who handled Michael's witness protection program. He's a self-aware FIB agent who knows just how dangerous his organization can become if he loses self-control and what's left of his morality. While some of Dave Norton's methods are more or less crooked, the ends justify the means.
Dave always tries to look after his and Michael's safety. Of course, he's corrupt, but in his industry, it takes fire to fight fire and a certain breed of evil to take down another and that's what Dave Norton did, particularly against Steve Haines who's the main antagonist of GTA 5.
5 Lamar Davis
He's a troubled kid and friend from the 'hood but Lamar Davis has his heart in the right place, at least when he's rollin' with Franklin. Any other time, Lamar gets duped into lopsided drug deals and gets manipulated by a lot of other characters. He's definitely not as bright or as cautious as Franklin.
Still, that doesn't mean Lamar is a bad friend. He's the best friend Franklin could ever have. Near the end of the story, Franklin even warns Lamar that the latter might die if he continues helping the trio. That didn't matter for Lamar since he was loyal to Franklin and Franklin is a good person (usually).
4 Franklin Clinton
Franklin might have been a Grove Street gangster, but he's smarter and straighter than his peers. He's one of the most morally upright characters not just in GTA 5 but also among all GTA protagonists. Sure, he might show no remorse for killing pedestrians or causing a 50-car blowup in an intersection in Vinewood, but Franklin is only as bad as players want him to be.
Unlike Trevor, he's no psychopath and even shows a bit of distress after some deplorable actions. Franklin still values honor and loyalty; he might even be a strong case there is honor among thieves depending on the players' decisions. Now if only he'd get rid of that yee-yee haircut, he'd be a straighter arrow.
3 Floyd Hebert
Floyd Herbert is that poor and shy man whom Trevor stayed with (without consent). Floyd is also Wade's cousin, and that gave Trevor the in he needed to be a parasite to Floyd. Despite being cousins with a literal meth-head, Floyd is not a mess of a person. In fact, he even admits that the only crime he did was the pettiest of thefts back when he was a kid.
This man couldn't even curse and was genuinely kind and giving to the point of being a doormat. Sadly, this behavior meant he wouldn't last long in a place like Los Santos as the likes of Trevor and his own girlfriend stepped all over him and treated him poorly.
2 Tanisha
Tanisha is Franklin's childhood friend and ex-lover. But unlike Franklin, Tanisha saw just how unsustainable the gangster life is in Los Santos. So her breaking up with Franklin proved just how much she values a stable and honest life. Lamar phrases it like Tanisha is some kind of social climber but it was at that point when both Lamar and Franklin were still coping with the futility of their street gangster situation.
In truth, Tanisha still loved Franklin and even wishes him well despite the latter's stubbornness. Even as Tanisha moved on to her new life, she still looked after both Franklin and Lamar, even going as far as to warn them of impending dangers.
1 Maude Eccles
It's easy to forget about Maude in GTA 5 because she's just a minor character who gives out bounties. Maude also doesn't introduce herself much apart from the fact that she's a middle-aged woman with a shady line of work. However, Maude's head is in the right place given her sense of justice.
Apparently, she wanted to be a cheerleader but her sense of justice went in the way and led up to what she is in GTA 5. She's supposedly an independent law-enforcement contractor who hands out rewards for small-time wanted people. In any case, she's doing her local community a good service despite the methods.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.