Story spoilers obviously.

Fair warning, Im terrrrrrible with names in this game. Haven't memorized any of them

This was spurred by around midway into the game when you're tasked with stopping the Grey Wardens who are attempting to bind a nightmare demon because they were tricked by a mage working for the big bad. You get to the big fight, but instead of getting to bust up the evil wizard, this badass grey haired lady mage fucks his shit up and fucks up the dragon and I'm like "goddamn lady leave some for me". How great would it have been if she came back later with a few really gnarly scars or something and joined the party? I woulda loved that.

I also think it woulda been interesting to be able to recruit a prisoner. I took the mage path (over templars) and that mage's story about bending time to save his son is super intriguing. A time-based mage would have been a really interesting addition, especially if he's a controversial and divisive figure.

Both of these characters are on the older side too which I feel is something missing a bit in the current companions.

Morrigan and Leliana come to mind immediately. Sure, they're a bit on the older side and we learned a lot about them in DA:Origins, but 10 years have passed and both characters have grown in that timespan.

Then again, Bioware would make them romanceable if they were companions, so it's probably for the best. Morrigan's specialization would be pretty badass, though.

Leliana makes a good case in the game for why she's not a companion, basically that she aspires to much greater things. But her coming out of retirement for a bit of revenge coulda been interesting, especially since she seems on the surface above that sort of thing and it takes a bit to shake her.

Morrigan could be a companion but at this point why not have her go full on dark art and become the next big villain. That would be a fun twist.

Iron Bull is one of the more unique designed characters in the game but personality-wise he's kind of your average good-hearted mercenary, which is fine. That's one of the more palletable archetypes. However his second in command, Krem, has some interesting stuff going on as a character that's never really been explored in a game before. Woulda been interesting to hear what the other companion characters had to say about it in ambient conversation

Cullen has a sweet ass coat on. Wasn't planning to make him my character's love interest, but the coat swayed me.

Minaeve. The elf who you give research materials to in Haven. I don't know why I like her so much and she specifically says she's crap at fighting but she's carrying enough tragic backstory to put most of the companions to shame.

I'll second wanting to take Alexius, guy deserves a chance at redemption. I've been trying to find him in Skyhold since I released him to research magic for me under heavy guard. Would also like to be able to take Hawke with me, especially since I was able to make him look exactly like the Hawke I played in DA2

Morrigan and Hawke. They are both badass and they don't really give a reason for why they refuse to fight.

I would've said Leliana before I played this game, but she's actually kind of a bummer compared to Origins. I asked her to tell me a story and she told me to go to the library. Ice. Cold.

Hrm ... Hawke as a compainion would actually be pretty good. But then again, he/she is the champion and a hero in his/her own right. Would probable feel wrong to have her as a companion. They probably used him/her just the right ammount.

This guy, the pathetic marquis from Vivienne's intro. I haven't happened upon any npcs I wish I could recruit but can't for plot reasons yet, but I really love this person's costume.

They could probably swallow their pride for the sake of the world.

As much as I'd like Hawke in my party, she looks pretty much exactly like my Inquisitor because I tried to approximate the look I gave her in DA2.So that would be weird.

I'd like Scout Harding because she is goddamn adorable!

Fucking Hawke. I physically raised my fists in the air and started jumping in my seat when they gave me the option to customize her because I assumed she had to be a party member at that point. I guess I should be thankful that she's in it at all and that there is as much DA2 stuff as there is, but goddamn. Even got her too look like an older, scarred up more badass version of what she looked like in my DA2 saves.

Alexius would actually be pretty cool. Scout Harding could also be interesting, she's a pretty good character for having such a minor role.

I of course also wouldn't mind Morrigan or Leliana. Hawke I'm not so sure about, since she probably wouldn't act anything like my Hawke did in DA2, which would break immersion by quiet a lot for me.

Scout Harding

Scout Harding and Cullen

Scout Harding. She's the best.

Scout Harding and Grim of the Bull's Chargers. Just imagine the dialogue of his companion quests :D

Definitely Hawke. I was so excited to find out she was going to be in the game and it really would have been awesome to have her become a permanent member, even though I'm sure it would have been difficult to write companion dialogue that felt meaningful without interfering too much with people's personal image of Hawke. At the very least she should have been a temporary controllable character when she was around. Kind of underwhelming to see the Champion of Kirkwall be relegated to an NPC throwing out auto-attacks.

I came here to say Scout Harding and everyone else already said Scout Harding. DWARVEN SCOUT! I would have romanced her, if it were an option. DO ME A FAVOR AND MAKE HER PLAYABLE IN SOME DLC OR SOMETHING, BIOWARE. I WILL GIVE YOU CASH MONEY FOR THIS.

Honestly everyone at the damn war table should've been in the party because they are waaaaaay cooler/more interesting then the ones you get. Give me Cullen, Leilana, Josephine and Morrigan over Dorian, Viv, Sera, Blackwall.

So far Lelianna seems to be a waste in the game. Not a lot of great/amazing dialogue and I don't understand why she wouldn't be a romance option. Just seemed weird I guess.

AND ABSOLUTELY YES ON SCOUT HARDING! She is fantastic and shockingly seems like dwarfs are not very involved in the game at least to the point of where I am at. She is very funny and the flirtatious stuff with her is fun and that is a character I want them to do more with. She really is one of the better/more enjoyable parts for me so far.

Because she can romance the Warden in Origins, who is potentially still around and active. They could have always put in a flag that stops you from romancing her if your Warden did I guess, but she doesn't really seem like she would be into romancing anyone in this game anyway.

@kishinfoulux: What is Josephine going to do in a combat party? Throw money at enemies to get them to leave you alone?

Cullen is a big one and maybe Gaspar?

So much this. I also like that you can flirt with her, but shes not a romantic interest. She also has some good come backs. Having her and Varic in a party could produce some good laughs I think.

I gave Cassandra the latest copy of her favorite series of books, I hope she liked it.

It would be so fucking rad to put Hawke in my party.

Could've just made her a Mage/Rogue or something.

@kishinfoulux: Doesn't that completely contradict her character? She's a diplomat. That pretty much defines her whole character in the game.

I don't get why Cullen is not a party member. Did they do that to counter Liliana not being a party member? I for one was not happy Hawke was even in the game. He was the main character of the last game. A player controlled character. It somewhat bothers me that s/he is in the game as an AI controlled NPC now. And I found it super silly that when you first encounter him/her it asks if you want the default Hawke or if you want to customize her/him. Why would you tease us like that. That makes me think s/hes gong to be a party member. The whole thing left a sour taste in my mouth.

@sterling: It's hardly the first game to put the main character of one game as a supporting role in another game.

Also while I would have loved to have Hawke be a party member, it's pretty obvious why they let you customize him/her. You can't import character data, so allowing you to customize in-game is the only way for people to maintain their personalized Hawke. That's something that can easily break the fiction, so it was a smart addition.

I don't get why they let you pick in the Keep if Hawke was diplomatic/sarcastic/aggressive in 2 since i choose diplomatic (as i played) and he still acts like a complete intransigent asshole

I picked sarcastic and I noticed a few extra bits of joking dialogue. It seems to be a relatively minor difference though.

@zeik: So because another game did it, I am supposed to okay with it and like it? That makes no sense. They can't replicate my character. They tried and failed. He doesn't even come across as the same person. Its bad fan service in my opinion. Hes kinda of a douche in this game. Not at all how I played him. That is the problem with this type of game having done this. Everyone plays the main differently. You can't just import a generic version of that character and try to please everyone.

Seemed like Hawke should have at least been invited into the war room, considering the prominence she had already. That she won't join the skirmish or orchestrate the bigger fight seemed out of character. But she did tag along for the fade and (for me at least) have her big character sacrifice moment. But it felt very divorced from my personal interest because she shows up for this particular set of main game quests and then she's gone.

@bargainben: I don't know if it is because the grey wardens part of the game is so badly written you'd think Damon Lindelof was involved, but i truly disliked how Hawke was represented. I would have sacrificed him too if not for the fact that i wouldn't have heard the end of it from Varric.

Who's to say she can't do both?

Because her character and interactions would make practically no sense if she was a fighter. You'd have to alter her character fairly significantly for it to make any sense that she'd be out there killing people. You can have a character that is a diplomat and a fighter, but that character would not be Josephine.

Vivienne is basically a diplomat and a companion. Anyway.

After getting a bit further in the inner circle quests, I really wish this game had flashback scenes or even better flashback missions. I feel like every character in this game essentially had their own crew prior to the inquisition. The Chargers, the Red Jennys, the Seekers, etc. and that could be interesting to see. But what would have been really interesting is to play a flashback as the real Cole, the mage, or the real Blackwall with Riener. They could be used to unlock some hidden ability for the character.