I admire Claudia's dedication and work ethic but have only just started warming to her. The last couple of weeks, I think we're seeing a bit more personality slip out. She's very controlled on the main programme but is warming up on ITT - which not everyone watches, so might be a problem for her. I do like that she's getting better and better, is really resilient about marks / comments / music and really wants to learn each dance as well as she can. I don't know if she has the humour to be a fave, but I would be very happy to see her progress and would even be fine with her winning.
As for AJ, I have no problem with him. He seems to have a sunny nature, shows great respect for Claudia and is learning as fast as her - I think he's ironing out some of his earlier errors. I like that he really wants her to improve technique but is working hard on performance too.
Maybe not the most impactful couple but I still believe there's a 10 worthy dance in there and they both seem nice people.