I'm ready to delete my char, sneaky archer lvl 38.

He's really good alone and takes the potshots when needed and go back into sneak Mode. I like to play it like this, but sometimes you get in to harder regions and want a follower, and they just trash the sneaky part and even if they are good fighters, I get into problems I don't need.

It's a bit late for this char to work on Conjuration, if I picked it from the start he would've been fine, but these clumsy followers makes me mad.

I sneak next to walls and followers just walk into every trap in any dungeon and when seen they go aggro and if not losing, they make the enemy find me hiding in a corner.

So is an archer and with Conjuration a daft idea? I tried it before, but sortof mucked up the character early and never really liked it, but thought there might be potential?

walk alone

Followers are only good as cannon fodder or if you enjoy watching them fall for every trap in the dungeons.

Some NPCs are actually able to avoid traps... I've never seen Anska or Mercer activate a trap in the dungeons in which their quests take place

Words of wisdom.

The only time I ever had a follower was when I really hit a goldmine and needed someone to carry my new loot. I fired him as soon as I got it to my house.

I do kind of wish I would have kept Cicero as a follower though. Apparently he's pretty entertaining.

But my character is an archer with conjuration...My highest skills are sneak and lockpick, but those are the next two. I get along pretty well. You just send the adronachs out to fight for you while you hide and sneak around and take potshots. It's a living.

Mercer is a good follower, but....you know(no spoilers).
Best sneaky style follower is jenessa. She, and several other mod followers are the only ones i use. Jzargo is not bad too, he can sneak well, but i dont like magic followers.

If you're primarily an archer, you should have a Sword and Board, or a 2H weapon, as backup. If you need more than that, you're not doing it right - possibly going into areas higher than you. I have a 2H war hammer or something like it, no skill points or perks assigned.

I have two archers, using Lydia with a follower on the first one, the second one by herself. I haven't played with my first archer in over 2 months. My second archer is almost finished (I except for the DB and mage college quests), and haven't had any problems playing solo.

Good luck.

By that answer my char is gone and we try atronarchs again, probably already from the start as the char will be pretty weak.

On what level are you playing?

I'm thinking master next time, just to have fun.

I'll take that into consideration, it's not like I won't get enough perk to use it and make it useful. I only used OH on this guy, but never thought of block which can make a big difference. Good idea!

Your follower will not only 'follow' you.

They will obey your commands.

This includes telling them where to stand and where not to stand, when to sneak, when to attack and when to stay still.

Try this and let us know how you get on.

Az

The followers are only useful as mules. They are a pain, especially for a sneak archer. I am the same level as you and I never have to use one. I don't see why you couldn't go with Conjuration if you want to, though. Or get a staff that conjures something. It makes a good distraction.

follower + sneak = fail

Some followers can sneak reasonably well, but never as good as a player. Any of the 3 Dark Brotherhood followers have sneak as a primary skill.

Yes delete your character or wait... what about ordering you're followers to "wait" in a area then return to them when you need them? actually nah that's too complicated just start all over again

I tried telling Lydia to "wait" so I could sneak ahead and soften up my enemies, but as soon as the "eye" icon came partially open she ran in to attack. Might have had to make her wait in another room instead of around a corner, but it was too late and I didn't try it again.

Edit: To the OP, I don't think it is too late to try conjuration. You might have to put some perks into it as well as points into magicka (don't know what your magicka pool is now) but it could be do-able. Or keep working alone

As an archer I dont use followers, conjuration OR sword and board. Pure archery and sneak (and alchemy). Use your whisper shout throw voice, use arrows to shoot against far walls to distract enemies, take 1 shot and hide and move, shoot and move, and IF they do get the drop on you and start laying melee hits on you, rely on your best friend... FUS RO DAH!

And dont be afraid to retreat a bit and hide somewhere new.

^THIS

If you really want to start over, how about a sneaky illusion archer. If you get spotted or multiple enemies are around use calm, fear, or frenzy to keep them away so you can keep shooting.

Though illusion is pretty perk heavy so it might not fit your build.

the lack of the great newvegas-like companion wheel and side quests was very disappointing.

'wait' becomes a regularly used command with companions, but, they still need to be far away from combat or they come-a-chargin.

I'm a sneaky archer-mage and I don't have alot of problems with my followers.If I walk to the side of traps they tend to follow and I'm usually not found until I start shooting so I can't really complain.

This can be quite funny though
Atm every now and then I hear a loud noise, look behind me and see Eola has triggered another trap
I was imagining what it would look like if it was a film earlier today

Never took a follower on my sneak character. Didn't need one. Single enemies were almost always a one shot and against multiples I would either pop an invisibility potion to disappear again or use the stealth roll to quickly move out of range and hide before sneaking back to kill another enemy. It's so easy to get by on a stealth character without a companion even against harder foes. One thing they did that made it even easier is that enemies don't quickly regain health when you drop back into hiding. So you can hit a harder enemy and do a lot of damage then run/roll away or use a potion, restealth, and come back to finish them off. They're stupid so they stop looking for you as soon as you disappear again. My thief/assassin did so much damage from stealth though that I just never needed any help. Companions in general are horrible at staying hidden and once spotted they never go back to stealth until all alerted enemies are dead. Learn to go it alone.

With sneak based characters a bit of care and attention is required as to who you bring along. Big heacy armour dudes are not a good idea as I found out to my cost.

As a sneaky char, it's best to walk alone.
If you want a follower, I know there's a thief-style sneaky mercenary in Whiterun, who stays at the local archeryshop, The Drunken something. Don't know if i she's any good, but I figure it's your best bet.

DB followers are clumsy and dont follow orders very well...

Derkeethus and Cicero are good in Sneak. This one time, the 3 of us were sneaking behind these two bandits who were walking around the tomb, talking about it. At one point, they turn around to repeat their tracks.. I got into a hiding spot but my followers were in their paths BUT the Bandits walked right past them, like they weren't even there!