Well, in CoM Axel was his favorite from the first batch of them, as well as the staff. Then KH2 came around and he probably picked up a new favorite. I think his favorite character depends on what game, but you can tell he really likes Axel/Lea. Well...Reno, really.
Yeah, that's true.
Nomura has every reason to like Axel, hell I like Axel, but I was just glad to see him pick a more obscure character as his favorite.
It's just that sometimes I see these answers as, like, political, where the developer picks a fan favorite just for the sake of picking a fan favorite ("MY FAVORITE IS AXEL WHO DOESN'T LIKE AXEL RESPECT MY OPINIONS").