I'm playing basically like an assassin/thief type character, sneaking everywhere I go and using my bow as much as possible. I have Lydia as my companion and since she is in heavy armor, does having her with me affect my sneak ability?

Also, since I'm tlaking about her, I really hate the attitude that i get when I ask her to carry some of my stuff, "I'm sworn to carry your burdens".

They won't detect you. They will detect your follower.

LOL, her sarcasm is part of her charm.

I'd like to know if they affect you too. Outside of you attacking, the enemy looking for you and her charging ahead. Though when she does that, sometimes I remain unseen, she just needs a shorter leash. In general though, how much do they affect you when sneaking?

Yeah, if their sneaking skill isn't good then they will be seen and give your position away. That is why most stealth character go it alone. There are a few followers who can sneak well though.

I leave my follower behind when I go on these missions. I would do the Dark Brotherhood quests first, and then keep the initiate with you when these types of quests. The initiate has a really high sneak level, and will go for back stabs when possible (i.e. someone aggros you and she comes up behind).

Other than her, Faendal is the best I've used at sneaking. His leather outfit and ranged attacks keep him quiet and at a distance. Maybe use him first so your initiate doesn't get stuck low level, and switch to the initiate when Faendal dies. He has a tendency to go aggro on you inf he gets hit with ANY piece of ANY attack, meaning he will turn around and fight you if you clip him with a shout. Just an FYi/warning.

Take away her weapons, give her a bow. I have been able to control Mjoll to a large degree by controlling what she has in her inventory. I assume the same would work on Lydia.

Yep, ol' Lydia is one noisy clunkin' chick.

I play as a stealth / sneak archer and assassin, so I mostly do stuff solo. However, I do like to take the female Dark Brotherhood Initiate out on some quests from time to time. She is also a sneak assassin that uses daggers. She doesn't give away your position until you get fairly close. Plus, she is more than capable to take care of herself in a fight. One thing I like to do is take the first shot(s) at long range to get things rollin', and then she runs in to take out some leftovers.

Yeah, this time around we're tin cans of a feather (two tanks together).

My second character in play (going to try the sneakier type with him) is giving Janessa a go, first time using her so I'll see how that goes compared to Lydia.

Ironically I made this today: http://burhenn63.deviantart.com/#/d4jrr1j

Pretty much once they detect your follower, the jig is up. Unless your follower has run far ahead of you.

For super stealth missions, I leave my follower at the dungeon entrance so they can carry the loot and go forward on my own.

Do not hire Stenvar.

'Lydia, I promise you something more interesting will happen if you guard the door from the OUTSIDE instead of following me into certain peril.'


Works every time.

As a Ranger type, Jenassa can sneak quite well. I have a bit of an issue with the fact that she prefers to use her own hunters bow over the glass bow I gave her.

I'll have to see if she gets to stick around long enough to attempt to play with equipment. She is not as hearable as Lydia is walking around, so thats a plus.