Showtime's long-running dramedy Shameless is coming to an end with its final season on the air. The Gallagher family seems to be constantly expanding, introducing more unique and compelling characters over time. The Gallaghers themselves are all intelligent in their own ways, which makes them a little hard to compare on a sliding scale.
Some of the characters are street smart while others are book smart. There are also some who are emotionally intelligent or simply wise through life experience. There's also the matter of age - characters like Liam are hard to judge because so much of their screentime is spent doing very little. On the other hand, some of the older characters can be a bit naive.
Kevin Ball
Kevin isn't the smartest of the bunch, and he knows it. He isn't very literate - in fact, early in the show, he its to not being able to read or write very well - and confuses his facts on a regular basis.
However, just because he isn't as academically smart doesn't mean he isn't intelligent in other areas. He does seem to know a little bit about business and does own a successful bar. He has also managed to get the Gallaghers and his own family out of a few sticky situations too.
Mickey Milkovich
For all of his toughness, Mickey allows himself to be bossed around by others more often than it seems. He starts out as almost a lowlife, someone who enjoys causing trouble around town.
Over time, he grows and allows his feelings to show. Still, he hurts Ian deeply for a long time and allows himself to pay the price. He's forced into an unwanted marriage and lives under the iron fist of his father while Ian is living his own life. As to book smarts, Mickey seems not to care too much about schooling.
Jimmy Lishman
Fiona's first love interest on the show is integral to the Gallagher dynamic for a long time, but it's not long before his poor life choices come to haunt him.
Jimmy - or Steve - is clearly clever if he can get into med school, but he needs to know where to draw the line. He tries way too hard to interfere in the Gallaghers' lives and he doesn't know when to take a step back. He winds up in the wrong line of work on too many occasions, and he is often self-absorbed in his relationship with Fiona.
Carl Gallagher
Carl makes some questionable choices throughout the show, but somehow he seems to know what he's doing. He's always had a plan for what he wants to do, and he methodically works his way towards his goals.
However, Carl can be a bit naive. For starters, he believes anything that Frank tells him, which may be partly due to his age. He also has no common sense whatsoever, going so far as to attempt murder to resolve issues with other, obvious solutions.
Frank Gallagher
Frank may be a walking encyclopedia, which sounds strange given his personality, but his emotional intelligence is incredibly low. Most of the time, he has very little consideration for other people, even his own family.
He also knowingly damages his health repeatedly, almost to the point that he gets himself hospitalized on numerous occasions. This indicates a total lack of prudence and foresight, so he can't be considered intelligent.
Ian Gallagher
Ian knows exactly what he wants in life, which is an irable quality, but it's almost canceled out by his recklessness. Like Lip, he's also a bit self-sabotaging, especially in the earlier seasons of the show.
He puts himself through a lot of pain by pursuing Mickey, who repeatedly shuts Ian out for years. However, one could argue that it's worth it in the end.
Debbie Gallagher
Debbie changes a lot throughout the show, but at her core, she remains largely the same. From the beginning, it was clear that she was a kind, caring, and empathetic person but would often forget to show it sometimes.
After spending so long worrying about everyone else, she puts herself first. Even though she makes mistakes in her relationships, she still does well in school and is very street smart, like most of the Gallaghers.
Lip Gallagher
Lip is incredibly knowledgeable and book smart, but he makes a lot of mistakes, often knowingly. For the first few seasons especially, Lip constantly sabotages his own progress. He drops out of school, refuses to attend college, and purposefully gets himself in trouble.
However, he has the brains and knows more than most of the other characters in the show. He's also street smart and can take care of himself, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't also take care of his family.
Fiona Gallagher
Fiona is ambitious despite the hand that she's been dealt in life. She doesn't make any dumb decisions on a whim like some of her siblings do. Take the moment where she decides to take custody of her siblings for example. She comes to this decision after taking the time to think it through, process what it means for her, and whether it's worth the sacrifice.
Even after shouldering the extra responsibility, Fiona finds ways to pursue her ions in the workforce and make the most of her opportunities. She's very personable and senses when her siblings are going through something. She puts others above herself, even after everything she's been through. Of course, she does make mistakes sometimes, largely due to her carelessness.
Veronica Fisher
Interestingly, the most intelligent character on the show isn't a Gallagher. Or perhaps it's precisely because she isn't a Gallagher that Fiona's best friend Veronica is able to think so clearly. Veronica always puts her foot down with Kevin and Fiona, making sure her voice and her opinions are heard before she rushes to anyone else's aid.
Veronica knows how to make a living in the situation she's in, and she also knows how to stay safe and responsible. She's always willing to help out her friends, as long as it doesn't hurt her own family. She's also the one usually giving advice to other characters.
