Followers dont level up but mercenarys do however they only level up in the things that you level up in. So if you level up in two handed weapons they will also level up in two handed weapons. So what you need to do if you want them to be useful is pick one that fights in same way as you do.
Are you sure that followers do not level up? I think my follower does (I am playing on PS3): So far I played 120 hrs. as Mage
always having the witch
Illija as follower on my side. I equipped her with the finest ebony armor (for protection) and the best magic support equipment (for attacks), and she finally became such a killer, that
she often kills enemies faster than I can!Instead of leveling, I have three different hard coded follower problems:1. Followers cannot learn new spellsMy follower cannot learn new spells, she only can use weaker spells. This is a bit limiting. Therefore, I usually give my follower the most powerful Staffs instead of using them myself, and she is using them efficiently, sometimes probably better than I could.
2. Followers cannot heal me (even if having a healing Staff)
I gave my follower a Staff for reviving Zombies, and she uses it nicely. However, my follower does
not use a healing Staff at all. While I always try to have a look at my follower for healing her if needed, my follower does not the same for me.
3. (Some) followers cannot be marriedI spent almost my entire game with my beloved follower, and I finally would like to marry her.
However, the game does not allow this for Illia. This is so heartbreaking!
