Marylou-who?

Marylou seems to be the stereotypical woman from around that time- all she has to do is sit around and look pretty. When she actually does speak, its only to have short little quips like "poor baby" and other chutzpah like that. She's kind of just along for the ride, and her undying love for Dean baffles me.
What made me kind of sad before was how Sal thought that Marylou and Dean would completely split once they reached California. I feel like soon hes going to realize what a jerk he was and will want to go back to Lucille, but of course the hopes for them are long gone.
Sal, Marylou and Ed just need to stop being sheep and go out and do something for themselves, without Dean supposing it first. As much as they think they are in tune with the Beat generation, they're really really not. They're not freethinkers because they can't even think. When was the last time Sal made his own decision not influenced by Dean?...