Damn. ...at what point can we get him as a normal Follower? I'm guessing the Wabbajack won't work on non-followers.

I *think* (not real sure....) that you have to complete the questline before any of them can become "normal" followers.

I'm pretty sure most of them are followers in my dude's game, but he's pretty far along in the line. I guess I'll have to slash like crazy in my chick's game and hope he stays behind me.

She seems to be doing ok,we've tumbled with a few groups so far,she's not knelt yet...and these guys can hit,she is definitely tougher than Farkas was

Aela becomes non-essential after the main quest chain is completed, not sure about the others, but probably. Using the Wabbajack on essential actors will only cause an explosion, not a transformation which is needed for the "update". Also, be sure to remove any improved gear you gave to them first. If and when the actor resets, they'll be back to their basic equipment. Anything else is lost.

As for the cell thing, since we usually arrive in Whiterun by passing the meadery and farms, and since the companions are dealing with a giant there, that would set the level. You don't have to "discover" the Pelagia farm to see all the actors next to the road. On my first guy, I didn't take the road from Riverwood. Instead, I somehow went through the mountains and came to the western tower, then on to Whiterun, so I never saw the farm scene with the Companions. However, I do recall the corpse of a giant in front of the town's main gate! I think I met them there, too. But that was many weeks and beers ago...

Aela's definitely levelled differently to Farkas,he was going down after one or two blows every time,for any old silver hand,whereas in the next Companions quest Aela was on her knee's only the once and I'm pretty sure she finished off that Skinner guy herself. I tried my best to make the previous sentences double entendre free,but it's late and I'm tired and I apologise if anything untoward slipped in.

Haven't I read somewhere a part of the companions travel to other cities from time to time? Maybe that's the explanation, being in the same cell unintentionally.

Just entering Whiterun for the very first time will probably set Farkas' level since he often hangs around the training field behind Jorvasskr rather than inside the building.

Farkas is one of the worst specced followers in the game. Funnily, he trains heavy armor but he has more points spread in light armor. Like he says himself, he's not very smart.

If I remember correctly Farkas is immortal. So let him take the heat and run away, then come back and pick one at the time.

The silver hands there are strong like bandit marauders/leaders so if your character is a melee fighter it shouldn't have too many problems even taking 2-3 at a time. Parry, dodge hit and run, circle around.

On my latest character I met Farkas near Helgen minutes after beginning the game. And I've met up with hunting expeditions of Vilkas, Farkas, Athis, Skjor and Ria all over Skyrim.

Thanks to you for confirming this that'll explain a lot of lvl issues.

Mjoll is bugged as essential and cannot be wabbajacked, despite being an otherwise good follower. Also, in my experience, the reappearance of original gear is the sign that the wabbajack transformation worked - Just last night, I did this on Jskaar and he had all of the custom equipment still, I just had to access his inventory and he reequipped it.

You meet Farkas the first time outside of the city, near Pelagia Farm. He, Aela, and Ria are killing a giant. You usually pass by them at a very low level on every character.

Aela has skill levels that actually match her favored battle style. At level 50 she has 100s in Archery and Light Armor, and 75 in One-Handed, so she can hold her own in a battle against higher level enemies.

And I completely forgot about the encounter with Farkas and the giant at Pelagia Farm when you first approach Whiterun, which will set his level when yours is very low, when I posted what I did last night.

my quess and it is only a guess is that Farkas remains at the level he is at....once you receive the "Join the Companions" quest.

Duh, me too.... wow, that's a major bummer then. And you know, I HAVE run into Ria clearing bandits from Helgen when I revisited at about level 5.... Anything like that probably "counts".

Doing a little nosing around on UESP, it seems that Farkas' assignment to the Blacksmith class is related to his status as a master level trainer in Heavy Armor. Unfortunately, what that means is that even if you use the Wabbajack or the PC console to level him up, the only stats of his that will increase beyond their base value are One-Handed, Smithing, Pickpocket, Sneak and Speech. So when you level him up he'll have more hit points, but he won't be able to deal damage or take much damage with his default kit.

I just checked the Nexus - the only Farkas mods I can find there so far just change his appearance - they don't seem to address his stat/kit mismatch. My experience with making mods is very, very limited, but I do have the CK.

Maybe I'll take a look and see if there's something I can do to improve his utility for later levels. I know it won't help XBox/PS3 players, but us PC users at least could get some relief.

I'm pretty sure I hate Farkas the most; but that may be due to some of his insane glitches when he stalked me repeatedly. His voice & attitude is irritating, and he has the IQ of lint.
Oooh, you changed into a werewolf while I was forced to watch from inside the dungeon's trapped room! Gosh, you looked so powerful, taking the dreaded Silver Hand down sometimes with no swipe at all, after they recognized your "armor." I can see why you're constantly in critical-limp mode when I'm forced to quest with you: You're such a badass, Farkas! Thanks to you I never changed back into a werewolf ever again.

Thanks for all the help folks,sorry for posting this days later,got side tracked by the weekend. I would warn anyone using a stealth character that leaving that Dustmans Cairn quest to later levels makes it a little difficult,as Farkas can't be left behind or commanded so you can get swarmed by high level enemies in confined spaces,due to his enthusiasm to be one hitted by yet another enemy,but I've since completed the Companions quest line,and there seems to be no repercussions later in the game in regards to any of the Companion levels as followers. So not sure what the problem was,maybe the game expects you to start the Companions quest early and is set up for that,and for anyone experiencing difficulty like i did,frenzy spells and back tracking helped a lot against the silver hand.

The Sanguine Rose is very helpful as well.