This point seems slightly backwards on itself to me, as most of those (at least the ones I'm familiar with) are quite a bit larger than life. I think the point is that they are still very very mortal - you get the sense they can die, and the world will move on without pausing for thought.
Yeah ... upon further (and sans mai tai) review, the latter three are quite a bit outside the pale. But the others - a junkie hacker thief, an everyday hustler, and a couple of cops with humanity issues - just some guys, y'know?