I hear you That's a bit of my reasoning but it's really just the bad way they tend to write Amy.  In fact Amy was really sweet and cute when she debuted in Sonic CD, now her character is defined by her obsession with Sonic and hardly because she has any other goal in life. 

I can't imagine any self-respecting guy enjoying someone chasing them around like that.  It's kind of emasculating. Amy may claim to love Sonic but she doesn't respect his wishes much.  If she did he probably would see her differently. She's smothers him so much he doesn't even have any room to respond.

Aside from romance, Sally and Sonic have respect and mutual friendship and that is what sets them apart. Amy and Sonic is great for laughs, but Sally and Sonic is more meaningful and versatile. Same dynamic with Rouge and Knuckles or Shadow. The former is really just Rouge toying with Knux so it's great for humor but I can't take it serious.  The latter, I can buy because Shadow seems to be the only male Rouge respects.

Rouge doesn't try to manipulate Shadow and is genuinely concerned for him considering all the hardships he's gone through. I can't speak for Shadow's end but he does seem to at least look out for and protect Rouge. In the 06 game he even expressed gratitude for her loyalty and concern. (Shadow manages to pull honorable traits like loyalty and benevolence out of a shady, selfish character like Rouge??? That really says something).

Tikal is the only character currently in the cast that I can realistically see with Knuckles. They're both pretty traditional and about their heritage and guardianship. Tikal is sweet, honest and gentle and would probably not freak Knuckles out considering he's socially deficient with females and people on a whole. It's also a plus being the same species (and...well... Knuckles is believed to be the last of his kind so echidna breeding program recommended, lol.)

So you can see I tend to identify more believable pairings by them also sharing a common life mission/goal:

Sonic and Sally are both freedom fighters.
Rouge and Shadow are both agents.
Knuckles and Tikal are both guardians.

Put each pair together and they are a heck of a force, yet each can still function on their own as individuals.

I can only pair Amy (12) with Tails (10) or Silver (14) since they are all kids and have each have some growing up to do. You can't call those real relationships, but crushes and infatuations in that age range. Their minds, bodies, and emotions aren't fully developed yet.