In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, is there a noticeable difference between the character of Octavius and those of Antony, Cassius, and Brutus?

The most striking difference in the character of Octavius
compared to those of Antony, Cassius, and Brutus is attributable to the difference in
their ages. When they meet on the battlefield at Philippi for a parley in Act V, Scene
1, Casssius calls Octavius

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A peevish schoolboy, worthless of such
honor,
Joined with a masquer and a
reveler!

Octavius is a whole
generation younger than the other three men. He has never been in a battle and doesn't
realize the horrors that are in store. Antony has been a professional soldier for much
of his life and has no illusions about the glory of warfare. Earlier when addressing
Caesar's dead body in Act III, Scene 1, he speaks of war as he has experienced
it:

A curse
shall light upon the limbs of men;
Domestic fury and fierce civil
strife
Shall cumber all the parts of Italy;
Blood and destruction
shall be so in use,
And dreadful objects so familiar,
That mothers
shall but smile when they behold
Their infants quartered with the hands of
war,
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds;
And Caesar's spirit,
ranging for revenge,
With Ate by his side come hot from hell,
Shall
in these confines with a monarch's voice
Cry "havoc!" and let slip the dogs of
war,
That this foul deed shall smell above the earth
With carrion
men, groaning for
burial.

"Carrion men groaning
for burial" is a marvelous description of the landscape after a major battle.

The three older, more experienced soldiers are willing to
stand and converse before giving the signal to start the bloodshed. Brutus obviously
would like to talk about a truce. He begins the parley by
saying:

Words
before blows: is it so,
countrymen?

He is reminding
them that they are all fellow Romans. But Octavius is young, reckless, and hotheaded,
anxious to prove himself as a warrior and a leader. He
responds:

Not
that we love words better, as you
do.

Still hoping for a truce,
Brutus replies:

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Good words are better than bad strokes,
Octavius.

But Antony is not
to be won over with friendly words. If he could have been persuaded to join the men of
his generation in arranging a truce, young Octavius would have had to go along with it,
since he is still dependent on Antony's guidance. But Antony sees the necessity of
having a showdown. He perceives Brutus' conciliatory attitude as a sign of weakness. He
also feels obliged to side with Octavius because his own future is tied to that of
Caesar's young heir. Antony replies:

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In your bad strokes, Brutus, you give good
words.
Witness the hole you made in Caesar's heart,
Crying "Long
live, hail Caesar!"

Then
Cassius speaks up:

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Antony,
The posture of your blows are
yet unknown;
But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees,
And leave
them honeyless.

This is
outrageous flattery coming from an enemy on the battlefield between their assembled
armies. Cassius, too, would obviously love to settle this conflict peacefully. He is
even more motivated to do so because he has repeatedly expressed doubts about the
advisability of fighting Antony and Octavius at
Philippi.

Octavius is a whole generation younger. He is
young, inexperienced, hotheaded, enthusiastic, full of dreams of glory, needing to prove
himself; whereas Antony, Cassius, and Brutus have no illusions about war or about life
in general. Octavius will  end up becoming emperor of Rome, while Cassius and Brutus
will kill themselves at Philippi and years later Antony will commit suicide in Egypt
after being defeated in battle by his former friend and protege Octavius
Caesar.