So, I was walking with Brelyna at The Reach when I found... http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/1082/2011121000002h.jpg! (That Saber Cat was already dead when I arrived)

Is it common to find random named people at the wilderness? I already found Riften's Steward at the middle of nowhere too!
(Additional Info: I'm not into the Companions and No, I don't received any additional dialogue choices with them)

There's quite a few random encounters but I've yet to run into a named person from a city just wandering about. That's pretty neat actually.

Yeah I like seeing stuff like that. Haven't seen anyone I knew from a city though.

Best thing I saw was yesterday I was also walking in The Reach, and I came upon three fully decked out orc warriors attacking a robed Vigilant of Stendarr. The Vigilant took them all out within 30 seconds....I was like O_O apparently those guys aren't to be trifled with!

I've seen someone from the city killed in a random event out in the wilds. That scared me a tad.

There are a few characters in the game that travel from City to City and I occasionaly see them in the wild. One of my personal favourite random encounters is when you come across a random couple on their way to a wedding. Hunting them down with the bow is awesome!

Vilkas and some of the other companions occasionally leave and go wander around in the Wilderness. I've spotted him near Riften several times.