I registered an account just to resurrect this thread - in Avernum 6, the team of Raiders sent to help you reopen Fort Draco are named after characters from the TV show Mad Men, but with subtle spelling changes:
Raider Rumson - Freddy Rumsen
Raider Halloway - Joan Holloway
Raider Stirling - Roger Sterling
Raider Olssson - Peggy Olson (my favorite)
Additionally, I played through Avadon as a Shadowwalker named Omar after the character from the TV show The Wire, and, in an incredible moment of synchronicity that blew me away, in the endgame, Miranda paraphrases one of Omar's most famous quotes in an amazingly relevant way.