Was she really? Who was the person who the Shadow actively worked to convert, who was mentally tortured continually so he would come to the point where any normal person would want to end it all? Who, despite all this, came to his senses on his own (though the act was triggered by others)?
People dismiss Rand's final finding of love as a motivation as corny. But its so easy to forget that there is so much sacrifice involved in living on and fighting so that the people you love may be born again to seek happiness. Rand/LTT don't hope to be reunited with Ilyena in this life or any other. But they still want to fight on so that wherever she is, she may be happy.
It is a different take on the hero's motivation, made possible because time is circular in this series.
In exactly how many series do we have an arch villain whose reason for choosing to follow the devil is as rational, as brave, as Ishamael's? While ultimately wrong, there is sense in his philosophy.
And what better answer to that than Rand's? Why else should the world continue? It isn't as if all wars and evil will stop forever.
Rand's true heroism lies in the fact that he finds his motive to fight on despite being the one man no one should blame if he gave up on the world.
For Egwene, these realizations were not necessary because she always lived her life. Her life has always been about hope. Hope for something better than what people around her expected of her. Which is why she endures despite the many cultures she has been exposed to. She takes what is positive from each, and continues to grow, as she has always wanted to.
For Egwene, there was never any confusion that the Last Battle was about defeating the DO. That was but part of the larger effort to save humanity.
The lessons Rand is now learning about emotional stability and leadership, Egwene learned long before, among the Wise Ones, Moiraine and Siuan.

You want it both ways then? There must be doubt, and darkness in your hero, but he should also be super special ala Richard Rahl?

And Egwene is not more special than Rand. Just different. The end products of all the experiences both have faced are not so different from each other, as Egwene herself realizes. Which is why I always insisted that she is the chief female protagonist of the series. Dealing with the same issues as Rand, but differently, in a smaller scale.

I wouldn't change it. The mirroring between these two is what made tGS so special. It is only in contrast to Egwene that Rand's darkness is truly apparent. It is only in tandem with Egwene that the horror of his journey to enlightenment is truly appreciable.

Who says the most important human being also has to be the best, most clear headed and emotionally stable person in the world?
And who says Egwene is always right. She has a struggle she must yet face. She has to acknowledge that Rand is the true leader, that she can but be number 2. Not because prophesy demands it, but because Rand deserves it.