My favorite mounts were the ones in Age of Conan, for mainly this reason...
Best mount ever?
THIS ONE > https://ffxiv.consolegameswiki.com/wiki/Bomb_Palanquin
You sit on a bench, carried by your servants while everyone else who isn't worthy is beneath your passive gaze and uncaring demeanor.
Dragons. Anything that was a dragon or in the dragon class of flying mounts. Griffons as well.
As to they why for me it is the immersion of dragons and such. It just adds that special element of neat to my gaming experience.
EQ2 Meatbeast. Hands down.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QZr2-a8n-UU
Nephretiti said:That peacock colored griffon from EQ2..
The Iridescent Swiftwing
I know I'm a bit late on this one (yeah, I forgot to reply), but I wanted to make sure I got my two cents in on this topic. As far as *earning* a mount, I would say the EQ1 paladin white steed-turned-unicorn I earned through AAs was the most memorable. Next to an undead-crushing weapon, I thought having a proper steed was the ultimate paladin achievement.
As far as sheer visual effect, I would have to say that Riders of Icarus had the most amazing mounts in a game I've ever seen. Granted, Rider's whole raison d'etre is to collect mounts, so they put all their focus on mounts to great effect. Whether it was the low-level Woodland Joey (I rode a kangaroo!!!!) to stunningly beautiful flying dragons, you felt like they got evrything right about the way you would look, feel and move on whatever kind of mount you used. I could never expect any game to come close to this since mounts are not the main focus of most games.
My favorite mount was definitely the one below from EQ2...Spirit Steed, if I remember right? Something about that ghostly/ethereal look, it just went perfectly with my character (DE Paladin). I had plenty of chances to upgrade later, but refused to just because I loved the mount too much. :)