I *hate* Westerns, although I kind of like "Deadwood" (aka The Sopranos Without Cellphones). FWIW, Mal & Co. are not good at all at being criminals. However, as a Northerner, I call myself a flan rather than a Browncoat. But the analogy Browncoat = Confederate can't be exact, because Zoe is a sensible enough person not to sign on with any cause that didn't have her best interests at heart.

Joss has admitted that Firefly is pretty much Stagecoach in Space, although Simon is a much more positive figure than your usual Dude and/or Doctor in Westerns.

I tend to think of just about anything as a version of The Wizard of Oz, and although, as Zoe says, Mal is often lacking a brain, and it might be argued that (depending on your viewpoint) either Jayne or Inara is heartless, Simon is ALREADY extremely brave.