So, I'm really torn on using companions in this game. I really appreciate the extra carrying capacity and an ally to help with crowd control. But I feel like I'm babysitting them half the time. They are always getting lost, or are trying to catch up when I run or setting off traps. Earlier, I was deep into a dungeon trying to fight off a skeletal dragon when I popped a flame cloak spell to ward off lesser enemies swarming me. My companion decides to keep standing in the area of my flame cloak, takes damage, interprets it as me attacking him and then turns on me!

They're too much of a hassle to deal it.

Lydia's only job is keeping my bed warm.

If I ever find my companion, whom I lost many Skyrim days ago, I will slay him.

I'm kind of the same way. They really come in handy sometimes but I don't want to have to constantly worry if they are stuck or something or getting themselves into trouble. It really is like babysitting.

I was rolling with Lydia for a while with my mage and have yet to see my flame/lightning/frost cloaking hurt her. But I admit they can be a bit of a pain to manage (hopefully a mod will fix this), just constantly save and make good use of the "wait here" command. Attempting any stealth will see you dismissing your companion pretty quickly though.

I've found Lydia pretty good at catching up eventually. If she's lost in the world because I took an odd route or she's in a loop of triggering a trap over and over again, I just move on and eventually she'll catch up.

Yeah, I found they were helpful at first, but I prefer to do my dungeon crawling by myself -- you get all the experience from your kills and don't have to worry about them getting in your way. Not to mention the fact that I really don't like seeing them die all that much :/

I really don't think they're much of a problem at all. I don't worry when they're too slow or get lost as they teleport to your location whenever you go through a door.

Soapy, I wish that were always the case. I've been waiting for Erik the Slayer to show up now for several days. I didn't tell him to wait anywhere, and haven't received any messages that he's dead. I hoped he went back home to Rorikstead, but no such luck. He hasn't shown up at my house in Whiterun either. :(

I've never played a moment of this game without a companion. It's fucking great when you're a wizard (harry) and you can't carry a ton of stuff.

Followers can be insanely frustrating, but I find having a mule that can occasionally fight is indispensable.

They're great in the early game, but a hassle later on. At this point, I'm not worried about gold, so I don't pick much up, plus my carry capacity is almost 600 so I can carry everything by myself. They're decent in combat, but the only creatures that takes more than a couple arrows now are dragons, and even those fights don't last too long. I found it liberating to tell Lydia and Meeko to go home, and the first thing I did was climb up a mountain off the beaten path and it felt so good not wondering if they would be able to keep up.

@AndyD74 said:

Soapy, I wish that were always the case. I've been waiting for Erik the Slayer to show up now for several days. I didn't tell him to wait anywhere, and haven't received any messages that he's dead. I hoped he went back home to Rorikstead, but no such luck. He hasn't shown up at my house in Whiterun either. :(

I'm sorry to say that must be a bug as I've never had that problem. Any situation where I have to go through a loading screen, be it fast travel, entering a city, a different part of a dungeon, etc. my companion is there waiting for me on the other side.

I thought the companion kinda broke immersion into the storyline somewhat, when everyone is talking about how special and important the dragonborn is they never acknowledge the girl with the creepy stare that's always following you around. I'm not expecting them to have recorded dialogue for every possible different companion, but just saying I think it's best to experience the storyline without a companion.

I really dont have a problem with them. That spell cloak sounds fucked (never really used). I use my companions all the time. Guess my play style works well with them. I take Cicero as he at least has a personality and some funny things to say.

If you marry one of the followers when you buy the Amulet of Mara (like Lydia, I use and married Mjoll the lioness from Riften who seems to have a bigger carrying capacity ) they start a shop which can be accessed from the speak to menu at any time (even in a dungeon), this can be very useful to sell items on the fly (they can still just carry stuff for you as well), also they can give you a share of any money the shop has made as time goes by if you ask them. So to answer the question I would have a companion.

They are completely useless for mage characters. Not being able to use AoE spells (1-2 fireballs and they are dead) instantly makes them worthless. Combined with the fact that high lvl conjuration summons can be more powerful than a fully equipped companion....

I had the same problem with flame cloak. The next problem I had was my idiot companion not staying out of the way so I could use any spells or my bow. Way too much of a hassle to deal with, the only time I ever have a companion with me is during quests that require them. 

My character is a pacifist so Lydia is indispensable.

I just smith her fully upgraded heavy Armor and weapon with dual enchantments on it and let her and the atronachs do the fighting while I find a rock to hide behind.

I settled for turning them essential with the console. Might be cheating, but they still go down. I just don't lose them forever.

I'm an archer. I met Faendal the archer in Riverwood 1 hour in. I'm 40 hours in now, he's still my trusty companion, always helping in combat, he & I shooting fools together from a far, and carrying shit for me.

They are too much trouble to be of much use in combat unless you are a mage just starting out or something.
Their only other good quality is pack mules. And since I'm playing on PC modding my carryweight is usually the first thing I do anyway.

i used Lydia a bit at the beginning of the game, she was helpful for awhile. but eventually she got in the way more often than not. messing up my sneaking. ect. i dont loot everything i see like most people, so i VERY RARELY have carry issues, so thats not part of it. like i never loot armor unless im going to use it since its heavy, i dont loot alot of weapons either. mostly potions, scrolls, gems, rings, ect. i'm always flowing in cash too. i dont understand how people have weight issues.

im currently level 18 and lydia and that manish looking chick in the whiterun bar are the only two followers ive found (oh and that woodelf in riverwood). well aside from the mercenaries you have to hire. i think i can get a catdude warrior to come be my buddy if i get hsi amulet back from bandits, but im not sure. i'll dot hat later today and see if i like him more than lyida.

I find Lydia useful only as a pack mule, but that's going to end when someone eventually releases a mod that allows me to use my horse to carry extra weight. As soon as that happens, my use of companions ends. I'm tired of the shitty AI.

In every single gaddam game I've had (from Half-life 2, to Halo, to The Elder Scrolls and beyond) I can never relax when I have followers!! I care so much about them that I must constantly watch over them and babysit their every move. That said, the followers in Skyrim don't seem to be as bad as other games'.

There is always the shrine of Boethia, if it gets too annoying.

Having said that I think they are great, once I figured out that I can sent the Huscarl home at any time, and try a different one. They also cannot die unless you shoot them by accident, or if they happen to fall of a tall structure. If they turn on you just sheathe your weapon, and it's all good.

It also opens a lot of tactical options, if you go melee then a ranged mage companion is your best bet, if you are ranged or stealthy then having a tank as a constant diversion is just awesome.

Rolling with Mjoll the Lioness at the moment. She has a cool name and is way less menstrual than Lydia.

@Jimbo said:

Rolling with Mjoll the Lioness at the moment. She has a cool name and is way less menstrual than Lydia.

Same. She is actually happy to carry stuff for you.

@Robo said:

@AlisterCat I did too. Got sick of reloading because I accidentally hit them when they got downed in my way. I stopped using them completely after I found the steed stone and now that I'm swimming in more gold than I even need and have little reason to carry a bunch of crap.

I have over 500,000 gold and I still have to pick up every single thing. I can carry over 600 in weight and I still get over encumbered.

I stopped using Lydia when I got my first spells that had splash damage. I went conjuration and destruction. Having Lydia, a summon, and doing area of effect or splash damage became a bit of a problem.

R'kjir the Lonely is not called that without reason.

I like having a companion, but then again Lydia just fell in combat and I find myself enjoying the solitude.

Variety is the spice of life, even in Skyrim.

You get plenty of playtime with temporary companions by questing. I don't see a reason to use them all the time. Unless this:

@Merricks said:

My character is a pacifist so Lydia is indispensable. I just smith her fully upgraded heavy Armor and weapon with dual enchantments on it and let her and the atronachs do the fighting while I find a rock to hide behind.

Which could be an interesting playstyle...but for most people who want to just play the game...nah. I killed Lydia so I could "keep" her in my house and still pick up another follower (for "free" training), but then I never bothered since the money for training isn't really much of a hassle.

Companions? You mean like werewolves? :P

My brother had a great idea. Give your companion all your empty soul gems and a weapon with soul trap. Your companion will become your own little soul gem filling machine.

I used companions for 50+ hours, but I think I'm done with them now. They get detected a lot easier than I do, and I even recruited the one who claimed she was sneaky...

Lydia dead.......day all ded....

I used a companion for the first 70+hrs I played, including to past the point when I finished the MQ. I just liked having a homie tag along I guess. I only recently dismissed while I am doing the DB quests which require more simple & stealthy single kills.

For those having problems with a follower getting blasted by their own spells, I'd recommend getting one that is naturally ranged (Aela for example) and taking their melee weapons. For me that worked perfectly, she'll never run in to melee and only shoot the bow. She gets kinda gimp up close, but it doesnt matter as the situation rarely happens, and I've never had a follower die by NPC hands.

I've found Uthgerdt to be a useful tank for my Necromancer in the early game, but now I'm starting to get some good defensive wards and highly powerful, aoe offensive spells, she's turning into a liability and I might need to cut her loose considering I keep one-shotting her in the back.

And by cut her loose, I mean murder her and raise her as a zombie. Hey Lydia, you're next!

@AndyD74 said:

If I ever find my companion, whom I lost many Skyrim days ago, I will slay him.

This. This so hard.

Every single time I took a companion into a dungeon with me they died. Usually when I'm throwing fireballs at an enemy they were too close to. Got me suspended from the Mage College twice after I was already the ArchMage. lol

Eh, I'm a lone wolf.

I go it alone. Maybe I'm dating myself, but I don't care for AI followers. Usually AI has some quirks, and carting around a giant pile of quirks tends to ruin my immersion (wah). An alternate way to deal with being encumbered could be to take a horse around with you, as you can fast travel while riding them no matter what you are carrying.

I sneak all the time, so I don't like to rely on companions. I don't even know how to sex people up.

Mijoll the Lioness is immortal. Not in the "take a knee and enemies will ignore you" sense, but she won't die ever even if you attack her sense. Cicero on the other hand has some great dialogues, so take your pick.

Lydia died fairly early in my game and I haven't used an optional companion since. They can definitely be helpful, but that seems to be outweighed by the many annoyances they cause.

good as mules, and almost as smart as mules as well...

Whatever. I can summon two Storm Thralls now. They're so much better than meat people.