I don't know how anyone can like Altair more than Ezio. If you look at the games, we have basically known Ezio since the minute he was born, when he had his fight with the Pazzi's where he got the scar on his lips, when his family was killed, when he first became a Master Assassin, etc. How can anyone relate more to a bland, emotionless person like Altair than Ezio?
Plus, he's Italian.