your floyd comic is everything bc jd was the most 'disliked' brother so he's like- surely if *I* looked for months, then everyone else would have done the same right? ..but i don't think floyd even looked. ouch.
YES!! I don't think any one of the older brothers is completely faultless in all of this, not even Floyd. (And yes, I don't think he looked, he tried to but he turned around at the sight of the first obstacle (y'know, Bergen Town surrounding the Troll Tree), while I think JD really tried to find Branch but failed.)
A big reason why I see John Dory being so disliked is just the way his personality is and his brute way of dealing with problems and conversations. Plus being the oldest meant everyone intentionally or subconsciously leaned on him to keep everyone together while their family was falling apart. No wonder he became a control freak. It's a judging books by their covers situation for sure. Everyone does it, even when they don't think they are. (I think Poppy would be someone who'd make Branch see that, since she has the outsider's perspective and is less judgemental overall.)
I honestly think that, after a while and if the brothers actually keep in touch regularly, JD could become Branch's favorite brother. They are so alike but just different enough that I can see them really loving each other's company.