Yep, allow pc dialogue is checked under his properties. It's just that I want him to be a secondary follower. If only I knew the way to make more then one primary follower then this wouldn't be a problem.
don't know if this helps, but i have this http://modsreloaded.com/moles-well where you'd get a pet mole rat: didn't want to affect follower limits, so i didn't make him an actual 'follower', but basically just set him on a follow-(orwhateverneeded)package and control the whole thing with custom dialogue options. (and just add him to player faction instead of followers)
worked great, i mean, how much would you need, about "come", "wait", "go home", maybe "shut up" and "attack anything you see" and it's done with.
only flaw to this was, you wouldn't get that pseudo-nifty follower-wheel (but who needed that anyhow

, while on the bright side, he didn't count as a follower for the limits and you could take him absolutely anywhere (like sierra madre...) regardless of any no-follower-limitations.
so maybe you might want to consider this making him a "pet" instead of a "follower" option
