ok so I have Lydia. and I've noticed the lady in the inn who can be hired for 500 gold.

a) can I have BOTH of them follow me, like on a quest? or only one at a time?
what happens if Lydia dies? does the Jarl at Whiterun give me another housecarl?
c) if I hire that lady at the inn, how long/far does she follow you for? same as Lydia? and once you're done with her, do I have to pay again for her services??



thanks

You can only have one follower at a time, or 2 followers if one is for a questline. And by quest follower, I mean a follower who is there for the remainder of a quest, then leaves.
If Lydia dies, you'll receive her inheritance money, but you won't get a replacement.
The payed mercenaries will follow until they die, or until you dismiss them. But if you want them again, you need to pay again.

Edit: Oh and I forgot to mention- Lydia is the same as a recruitable follower. So you can't hire someone with Lydia following you.

You can only have one human follower at a time unless you have an undead thrall and a normal follower. With the Master Conjuration perk, I guess you could have 2 thralls and a normal follower.. and a dog too I guess. Then with the Ritual Stone power, you could have a whole army at certain points.

And if you don't want to have to pay for a mercenary again, you can always marry him or her, lol.

thanks guys!

and last thing theres quest that gives u a follower (already been said) but u can get different quest and get diferent followers at the same time plus summons and dogs

something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp2Pu1iRm-4 cheerz !