While on the topic of characters in SA1 that are not as fun to play as, I never open up the full tank in Big's Hot Shelter. Every time I try to fish for anything, it just, you know, disappears on me or something. I had to learn the hard way to get that tip.
This is noted in Somecallmejohnny's Sonic Adventure review at 23:15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z13eY1NdP6g