You hit the nail on the head when you said guitars have their own personality, I have multiple guitars and each one is set up differently. I get them as close as I can but with different neck thickness and radius the truss rod adjustments behave accordingly. My gretsch is easy and forgiving and my schecter can be a jerk! But I love it any way.
Other factors affecting playability include fret height, and fret condition. Low frets that have been dressed a few times can make playing difficult, and the frets should always be as clean and shiny as possible.
