The characters feel alot more balanced than SSBM, I know MG&W in Brawl is way better than his Melee version.
Ike may be powerful but he doesn't have any indirect attacks and that helps to balance all his powerful direct attacks.
Does it really matter if Final Smashes are unbalanced? I mean you can turn the Smash Ball off . . . and some off the more powerful (one hit, one KO) ones do need to lined up with another player for them to work.
Mario -- Area effect, pretty balanced
Luigi -- Can be cheap if you use it in a crowd, but easily avoided
Peach -- Easily avoided. Cheap if you're against newbies
Bowser -- Complete and utter crap. Very easily avoided.
Yoshi -- Kick ass. KOs at low percentages, but can be avoided.
Wario -- WIN. Can be avoided, but very very strong.
DK -- Crap if you can't cut it. Might be useful in a few situations.
Diddy -- Awesome but fails on large stages.
Link -- Usually a OHKO, but only hits one character and must be lined up.
Zelda/Sheik -- OHKO (usually) for a line of characters, but must be lined up.
Ganondorf -- Potential OHKO, stuns and hits a line of characters. Can be avoided easily.
Samus -- Strong but does not KO at low %. Can be angled, but easily avoided. Zero Suit Samus effect is considered "crippling" by many.
Zero Suit Samus -- OHKO but needs to be right next to opponents.
Captain Falcon -- OHKO on many targets but must be right next to them.
Kirby -- KO at high % but must be within range.
Dedede -- Useful, but crap unless you are dead center at the top of the stage in midair.
Meta Knight -- OHKO but must catch opponent.
Ike -- KO at mid-to-high % on many opponents but must catch them first.
Marth -- OHKO on a group but must be in line. Follows path of platform and stops at edge.
Pit -- Terrible unless you are either on a very small stage or foes have very high %
Ness -- Crap unless on small stage; easily avoided.
Lucas -- WIN on small stages. Can be avoided.
Fox -- Cheap if you fly off screen with opponent, but most will avoid you.
Falco -- Can carry opponents further off screen. Can be avoided.
Wolf -- Insane power and cheap "fly off screen" ability, but lasts hardly any time at all. Can be avoided.
Pikachu -- Strong but hard to control. Rarely KOs.
JPuff -- Great on small stages, but easily avoided on large ones. Almost always KOs.
Lucario -- Crap. Can be angled, but sucks in general. Rarely KOs.
Pokemon Trainer -- Similar to Mario's. Middle of the road.
G&W -- Octopus is slow, reach is poor. Can KO through walls and off ledge. Does NOT fly, so must jump to get around. Touching it may KO.
ROB -- Utter crap. Great in combination with curry, grabs, or combos. Shit otherwise.
Snake -- Cheap. Invincibility + aimed explosions + multiple shots.
Sonic -- CHEAP. Invincibility + near OHKO tackles + free flight. Catch is poor handling, but that is easily remedied with practice.
Is that everyone? I believe so.
