Bethesda have had three chances now to see how important a good Follower is to the Player for help AND immersion, yet they keep giving us half-assed Followers that don`t really work that well.

For instance, you tell them to go to bed, they get up as soon as you go to do something else. You`re sneaking, you tell them to wait while sneaking, they stand up! when you want them to wait and NOT ATTACK because you have a great plan to drag the enemy onto traps or something, they barge forward blowing the trap or bringing the entire horde of enemies down on you. It`s also annoying that when something special or amazing happens, they never ask, `What was that?` or `What happened to you, you just vanished?`

Now what Modders have done in Morrowind, Oblivion and FO3 and done less glitchy than Bethesda can in Skyrim:

1. Created Followers that go into stealth with you and stay in stealth when told to wait.
2. Followers who can be ordered to stay back and not engage unless the enemy is really close.
3. Followers with many more voice talk than just `I haven`t seen that before`.
4. Followers that have several options for death to suit the Player. He can have a damage-sponge or someone who dies like the Player with even bring back from critical dying mode.
5. Followers with several dress modes that they can save. Have one for sleeping, one for the dinner time at home and several for fighting.
6. Hat on when fighting, off when no fighting.
7. Open locks, disable traps, even fix stuff IF they have the required skills.
8. They get annoyed if you take too much stuff off them without giving them anything back.
9. Ability to `pull` you out of a stuck position.
10. And finally, even join you properly in mini quests like they actually see what`s happening.

Now if Modders can do stuff like this, why can`t Bethesda Devs do and incorporate just one third of this for the THIRD incarnation of the Elder Scrolls?

I can understand that Bethesda would never make a companion with the depth of Companion Vilja character/feature wise, because that's just way too much time spent on such a minor part of the game.

But I agree they definitely could've made them a bit more functional, the stuff you mentioned is not that complicated but adds a lot.

Every single one of your posts or threads is about how much Skyrim dissapoints you, what you didn't get out of it or something else entirely. Do yourself a favour and stop playing it mate because all I see is you creating thread after thread about something you care way too much about. Not a dig at you, just saying it can't be healthy.

OT:Followers are dumb, this is one of the many nuances we will grow to love about Skyrim as we did about Daggerfell, Morrowind, Oblivion etc.. besiides plenty of modders in the community means whatever Bethesda couldn't do, they can make better!

If they won't take the time to make the companions work right than why even bother wasting the time to put them in the game?

Companions are so worthless it isn't even funny.

If Bethesda operated by "do it right or don't do it all" principle Skyrim wouldn't have been released at all

It seems they tried to give a little bit of everything, but because of that much of the features are... well, like the companions. There, but why?

they are pretty good as meat shields IMO

Yeah, for me when I'm trying to blast the enemy with my fireball. I've done killed one companion that way and I refuse to use any more.

Once again, you fail to realize that there are limitations that you don't acknowledge. They can't do everything that you want them to, and get the game to run on a platform like the PS3. There's just so much they can do. So you're always going to be able to find stuff you think they could do better on, no matter what. It's not that they couldn't have done a better job, it's that they decided their limited resources were better spent somewhere else.

The scope of the world and graphics, I think, are pretty much to blame. Game looks great, but seems lacking in this area, guild quests, etc.... Too much time spent on some things means other things are neglected. Not that I wish they went back to MW graphics, but time has to be spent on more than that.

@povuholo, I don't know it's a minor thing considering you get a housecarl at the beginning of the main quest of the game. Should have had better features including taking away their default gear. Can't stand when you give them something better, but the game doesn't think so. Like a mage wearing their old robes when you give them robes you enchanted that are way better then what they have.

Agree with OP. While I can appreciate the huge scale and design of Skyrim, followers do seem like an afterthought which is a shame. When Aela died by standing on a flame trap and refusing to move from it, I had no emotional reaction whatsoever. I don't like comparing games to other games, but if the devs had taken a leaf out of another RPG's (with Dragon in the title...) book, ie. fewer followers to choose from but give them a purpose, questline, refine their AI and give them a personality then this game would much richer and rewarding.

Also agree I should be able to choose what my follower wears and be able to manage their inventory, give them battle tactics (distance to follow, use bows or melee, defensive or offensive) etc.

I haven't married anyone, but I can imagine it being implemented without cause or effect, do you have to spend a certain amount of time with anyone before they marry you? Do they have to even know you?

Followers are just so shallow at the minute.

Not knocking the game in general though, and I do appreciate the magnificent effort, thought and care Bethesda have put in. Maybe they're saving follower development for TES VI!

Oh I don't know about that. With Skyrim that sounds like exactly what they were thinking with regards to underwater combat, spellmaking, weapon/armor repairing...

Another thing that bugs me too is if you dismiss a Follower after a long time with them such as Lydia (who I was with for 20 levels), she has no emotional response at all. What I mean is she could be designed to say after a duration of in game weeks or months with you, "Are you really sure you want me to leave, My thane?" In a slightly sad voice.

Just those words alone would make me think twice, but instead she just says, "Yes, i`ll be back at wherever if you need me." Like a robot.

They should all have slightly different response, depending on their six and character. most men would probably say something like, "Well, it`s been good going, perhaps we`ll meet again one day!" or "Fair enough, it`s about time I did my own thing." or Give me my last pay and I`m gone!"

I remember in Dragon Age I told a woman to leave and she was so sad, questioning why that I changed my mind! Even baldur`s gate did it better.

But primarily my concerns are why since Morrowind, Devs just leave Followers as basic empty carry cases that soak up hits?


Don`t agree. they could do a 3rd of these things (as I said) and keep them working on consoles. They just don`t believe consolers care or they don`t care enough for such detail for consolers. So PC gamers must suffer too.

I do realise. And what the hell do you mean `once again`?

Yeah, followers are the worst BUT! why do u think thay made the creation kit?

I disagree, I have 2 death thrall bandit marauders, and a follower, and they help me out quite a bit since my character is a master wizard that mastered all the schools of magic now and is trying to level up heavy armor and al the warrior stuff so i can perk all my magic schools, and when i hit 81, itll be done, and since im playing on master, they are VERY helpful.

Very smart stupid dividing players in "consolers" and PC martyrs. Because consolers don't want complexity in their consoler games, right?

Enough of the PC vs console bashing!



Warnings will be issued to members who insult other members, and implying that console players don't want complexity in their games is an insult.

Judging by comments Emil made about Fallout 3, I'd say the lack of dialogue/backstory for companions is simply that companions are not considered a primary part of the game, so not many resources are dedicated to fleshing them out.

What has the platform to do with the implementation of fleshed out companions? It's perfectly achieveable on consoles, it's not like loading times, memory or something. I think it's intentional, Todd said the companions would be less developed than in Fallout, for some (strange) reason.

Considering that the developers' plate was full, Bethesda could not have done any more with followers.

They could have held the game back for 2 or 3 more months and fixed a lot of bugs and added more content, but they wanted to stick to their super awesome release date. I have a video on my xbox showing that the game was going to be pushed back a month, and be released in december, but then suddenly it popped back to november.

A few Points remind me on the Companions in FarCry 2 When you get injured too much they pull you out... was a nice feature which could be attached to the game.

I wouldn't mind followers having a bit more depth, but I can deal. Horses, on the other hand--why did they make them worse than in Oblivion?

I really don't care about their backstory or their dialouge. I just want them to GET THE HELL OUT MY WAY when I tell them to and when I'm trying to kill someone from a distance with my magic. If Bethesda would at least make the AI better that would be enough improvement to make them worth while.

Dialouge/Backstory is pale in comparison to the real problems with companions in Skyrim.

if your companion is using melee, it's your job to take the right position to shoot magic or arrows btw, and his job to stay in front of the enemy.
(but shhhhh, don't tell anyone this big secret..)

I didn't expect followers to have the same depth as the best modded followers from previous games, but I did think it was odd that they had less functionality than Bethesda's own Fallout 3.

I will say that, as I'm working on a mod to do some of this for Aela, it does take time. I've been implementing things like a choice between ranged/melee/mix combat styles, and trying to add bits of "life" as I can--one small addition I was happy to make is that, if you ask Aela to wait, and then ask her follow again within just an hour or two, there's a random chance she'll comment that "that didn't take long." But it's taken me several weeks just to implement this kind of basic functionality and personality, never mind all the commentary on quests and game events that I want to add.

Multiplatform gaming mate, PC users have to live with console limitations or use mods.