or "average" (at least

The key thing is not that they are everyman, it's that people can relate to them. If it's Dr Who or Gandalf, no - they're totally other. But if it's someone like Einstein or Alan Turing, it can work if they're also going through normal human life struggles that your audience can relate to.

The difference with using a non-traditional narrator, is that now you have to write in their voice. Flowers for Algernon is the perfect example of this as we see his life transform through his eyes. Consider also Huckleberry Finn or numerous other stories where the writer uses the narrator's vernacular. To pull this off is trickier than it might appear (as you will probably find out if you do this). You have to understand how your narrator sees the world through his eyes. Hence, using Einstein is not suitable unless you can understand how one sees the world when one is a persecuted, egomaniacal, super-genius.

That said, if your dealing with a fantasy world, that becomes somewhat easier as you define the world's parameters. But you still have to make the narrator "human", at least in their perceptions. The Pride of Chanur comes to mind.

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