I like Veronica myself. I had Boone for a bit. He's good at killing stuff, but he's a bit boring. I find that Veronica is extremely well-equipped to dish out melee damage. If you get the mod that allows her to level up (It has to be a bug that she doesn't level up without it) and give her some power armor (which she can wear without any effort on your part), then she becomes a beast. I don't worry about fighting anything other than deathclaws. Everything else I snipe, until it runs up on me. That's when Veronica runs in and punches its face off. If there are multiply enemies, they rush her and I pick them off from range. I enjoy her company as well. She does complain a lot about taking my rifle away from me everytime I use it, though. I had Cassidy for one playthrough. She is entertaining as well. I never gave her a proper weapon though, so she was weak, by comparison.

I find that entertainment quality is more important than overall combat ability. Since my character is usually combat-oriented, it becomes overkill to have someone like Boone. Plus, Boone is boring to me. The cliché doesn't bother me. I just want the guy to say more than one word. He's supposed to be a companion, not a stranger. Either warm up or [censored] off. I don't have time to tour the wasteland looking for your past life.

My thoughts exactly regarding Boone. And to be honest, this was one of the main reasons I liked him. It was an enjoyable challenge unlocking his past, and a rewarding feeling to think that I'd managed to earn the trust of someone that had shut out those closest to him. A sad story though, as he's clearly a good guy but feels he's being punished for something beyond his control. He's also a beast in a fight, picks enemies off way before I've even seen them. His perk is also very useful. Good if you're going for a sniper type character IMO.