Why is Hudson a fan-favorite?

He is rather whiny, but he does have some of the most memorable lines of the movie, he carries out his orders dutifully when the others snap him out of his panic and fear, he is courageous when the situation calls for it and he goes out fighting with honour.

Hudson's that blow hard who turns out to be unable to back it up, like so many of them are. He also has some memorable, funny lines and he does come through and goes down fighting when things get bad. He makes for an entertaining character, even though he's not someone you'd want to be.