He's not as self loathing by the end of ACC. I think it's not only the self loathing but he is abit of a timid character type. Just look at his young life. He seemed to be a kid that was on his own most of the time. Loner type. Only reason he got noticed by Tifa is that he was the only guy that would go up the mountain with her. All the rest of her in crowd friends wussed out.
There also seems to be alot of stuff about Cloud still to be found out. Why the heck a Shinra grunt like him was an exceptional swordsman. Why he could take out and surprise Sephiroth just because he had unexpected strength. How the heck he can get run through with a sword as a normal person, and still have the strength to pull himself to the hilt and fling Sephiroth off the reactor. I know, we all say surprising things can be done in desperation and anger. But still, Cloud was always the abnormal character. It'd be interesting to find out who his father is. I have a fanfiction storyline playing off the theory that he was another Jenova child.
I don't identify with Cloud or Zack, moreso with the Cloud when he has some of Zacks personality quirks before remembering who he was. I'd be the type of guy that would say, "Let's Mosey."