What are the best companion choices (human and nonhuman) for a straight forward combat approach. I'm thinking of getting Rex and Cass? Or is there better choices?

I believe Cass can do the most damage indeed, with her shotgun surgeon and heart of vengeance (if chosen) perks. The Dinner Bell has her name on it in my playthroughs ^^

ED-E is preferable to Rex I think, as enhanced sensors is generally more useful, and it can do a lot of damage if you let the Followers upgrade it.

Above would be what I'd suggest.
Boone or Raul also are good / great depending on personal choice.
I prefer Rex to ED-E, but you get ED-E early and she has a great perk., but has a ton of bugs that can pop up

Boone is a destroyer. Give him the All-American with a bunch of 5.56 or the .50 sniper rifle. I also kit him out with a chainsaw and power armor to complete the pwnage.

My last playthough was a total intelligence hacker/speech/barter guy with no combat skills at all. I just kept boone with me to do the fighting.

Yup. The AA has a relatively short range so it's good for companions if you want to be a bit closer to you (not so far behind) or in places like Vaults, vs. an actual sniper rifle. Ammo is cheap & plentiful bu they'll go through it like water in a sieve.

It sort of depends on what you mean by 'straightforward' - non-VATS melee? Charging in, guns blazing, spamming the fire key? (?)

Boone, Cassidy, and Raul are Guns tagged and will do well with those weapons.
Arcade is Energy weapons (he won't use many outside of his powerful default plasma gun tho)
Veronica is Melee or Energy weapons if you want her to be ranged.
Lily is Melee with a high Sneak (the rest are terrible at sneaking/will be seen)

In my most humble of opinions, Boone kicks some serious [censored] with the All American equipped. And I can't help but say Rex is the best robotic companion, my reason being that he lays waste to people in the end game and he usually kills most humans in one chomp, that coupled with the fact that he's so damn fast that he can run way ahead and distract attackers and give you enough time to either kill them or heal or equip new weapons makes him my most favorite companion. If you have Boone do long range and Rex stay by your side then you will have a lot of fun with Deathclaws in the later levels as well.

My take:

Boone- Highest critical hit chance of all companions due to his 1st Recon beret. Aggressive demeanor even on Passive, starts engaging targets early and aggressively. Moderately useful perk, lousy upgrade after quest. Useful all-around, best used with heavy-hitting scoped rifles. Default weapon is reasonable for early to mid-game. Will often steal your kills and ruin your stealth by attacking enemies when you'd rather he didn't. NCR allegiance, will engage anything Legion on sight, potentially causing you no end of trouble.

Veronica- Absolutely lethal with Unarmed, but can more than hold her own with energy weapons. Can wear Brotherhood Power Armor which is obtainable for free from dead Brotherhood Paladins at REPCONN headquarters soon after you hire her at 188. Will often charge at enemies and get into your gunsights. Non-combat perk that saves you Workbench trips. Good upgrade for Unarmed after quest. Best used with Pushy or Brotherhood Armor+ Ballistic Fist. Good companion for most characters. Mid-game viable default weapon. Unarmed weapons need no ammo, which saves you the upkeep costs. Bonus: amusing dialogues. Not fussy allegiance-wise but may quit if you kill Brotherhood.

Cass- Very lethal with Shotguns as she has Shotgun Surgeon. Best used with Hunting Shotgun/ Dinner Bell; slug ammunition preferable (she goes WAY too fast through ammo with the Riot Shotgun). Best sidekick to have with you when going against Deathclaws and armored humans. If you're a sniper she will keep enemies from getting too close. Fairly disciplined on Passive and will not usually steal your kills. Decent to great combat upgrades after quest. Perk is a matter of taste; if you use alcohol a lot it's great, if you're like me and don't use chems a lot than it's as good as non-existent. Lousy default weapon. Dialogues are amusing at first but get onto your nerves fast. NCR allegiance, will eventually quit if you reputation is below neutral.

Arcade- Late game-viable default weapon, which saves you ammunition costs. Can use Gauss rifles. Perk is borderline useless. Quest starts VERY late into the game, upgrade OK but not spectacular. May quit if wrong actions or dialogue lines are taken.

Raul- Great with Cowboy guns. Very good perk that saves you repairs; synergizes brilliantly with Built to Destroy. Late game-viable default weapon. Good upgrade after quest. Probably the most balanced choice.

Lilly: Think Veronica with better stealth but without the dialogues. Perk of questionable usefulness. Annoying to have around.


Non-humans wise, ED-E is hands down the best choice. Rex offers little help combat-wise and cannot be set to ranged.

"Arcade- Late game-viable default weapon, which saves you ammunition costs. Can use Gauss rifles. Perk is borderline useless. "

You find double healing to be borderline useless?

for those who rely on sniping themselves, it's incredibly handy at nighttime, especially over long distances




seconded. his perk is awesome, and prevents you from getting ambushed, and other than that he's a superb pack rat.





taking into account, that getting healed is pretty simple, i'd also say that, yes.

It's a 20% increase.
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Better_Healing.

My current character is weak (3 End, 3 Int, 5 Str, no tagged fighting skills, 45 guns but not much else). So he relies on his companion a lot (Cha is 9, fortunately).

I've found Arcade to be a very effective follower. His Plasma Defender is a powerful weapon that never runs out of ammo, and he had tagged melee as well: outfit him with a Machete gladius or Knock-knock. On the other hand, Boone with a 10mm or12.7mm SMG and a truckload of ammo will mow down nearly anything.

I've had mixed results with Rex. Sometimes he's devastating, other times he's nearly useless.

for robot companions ED-E and Rex are both useful, ED-E′s perk is really really awesome while Rex is a beast that has a chance to knock enemies down. if you′re a sniper: ED-E, if you like to punch enemies while they′re lying helplessly on the ground: Rex!

Rex with Rey's brain is devastating in combat. He takes out Deathclaws. Problem is he will sometimes sit down and not move until you talk to him. So you have to keep an eye out that he is following you. He does have a bad habit of getting in the line of fire, but that is the same for Lilly and Veronica - though Veronica is not as bad as the other two.

I usually have V set to ranged, I use her as my EW equipped squaddie.

http://tangentgirls.com/gallery/d/13657-1/enb2011_2_5_11_4_16.jpg