yes. definitely. i agree with you about naming and the privilege of culture implied when bob and sue are demanded. i agree that the names should fit the culture one creates. but i also feel character names should be easily recognizable and distinct. i prefer names with some sort of cultural (even if it's fictional) consistency. names are important. character names are an aspect of world-building. i don't like it when it's apparent that there was no thought involved in a character's name--that the author just burped up some syllables spaced with random apostrophes to look foreign and then went on writing, however. it just seems lazy. (i never got that feeling from you.)

i once heard an author say that SFF in its core is about other. i like that thought.