Do audiences confuse characters w/ performance?

For instance:

Kareena may have performed better and in a more challenging role in movies like Chameli, Dev, Kurbaan, but it will always be Geet Dhillon that people associate with her best performance.

Kajol may have given a more electrifying performance in Dushman or Gupt, but people will always call Anjali of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai her best.

Shahrukh's more revered performances arent really the ones he performed the best in IMO.

Chak De India, Swades, Asoka, and the many shaded characters he did at the start of his career get over shadowed by the Raj & Rahuls he played in KKHH, K3G, DDLJ

Salman's performance as Chulbul is loved more than his restrained performance in Phir Milenge or more layered performance in Tere Naam.

What do you guys think?

I mean to say that if you ask a general audience which was an actor's best performance, they would most likely choose an endearing character over a performance that was better, but not the character itself.
Do you have other examples to either support this or maybe disprove it?

I agree with you to an extent, yes viewers do tend to get confused with performance of an actor to a character at times. If the character appeals to the audience, they relate the actor through the character. Besides not every good character is portrayed flawlessly by the performer since majority of movies have feel good, noble characters

There are also instances where people relate to the actor for their stardom more than their performance or characters in movies

if u think about it..ppl don see stars in real life...so confuse characters with actors.....ind therefor whichever character they think the actor is more acceptable in..waaalaa...ppl like SRK in romantic roles...Anushka/Parineeti in bubbly roles...if u know wht i mean...thy recognise the chracter in which thy feel teh actor is more "suitable" in..i think ppl will alwys rememebr Kareena for her role in Jab we Met...whereas filmwalas liker in Chameli..

also...masses (which represents indian audience mainly.). r too naiive to diitinguish between actors and characters...

applies to character actors too..