Use her as a boat to carry you downriver. You'll thank me later.

What is everyones obsession with Lydia? Is it because it is their first follower? They find her attractive, even though there are plenty more female followers and wives?

I just keep rezzing the lady, cause I don't want to get attached to another one

I don't get this fascination with Lydia.

I remember when my Lydia died. I striped her and put her body in a provocative position. I actually wanted her to die though.

why not just type (setessential 000A2C8E 1) to make lydia a essential npc so she cannot die

I just had six with lydia's corpse and then I feasted off of her with my cannibalsm ring.

If only she had a crispy taste to her.

she is the most accessible I think. She lives in my breezhome after becoming the thane of whiterun. The game kinda throws her at you, so its easy.

bleh i hate lydia, she always gets in the way (mercutio* doesnt), she is weak (mercutio isnt), and she is boring (mercutio isnt)

*i may have got his name mixed p with the guy from romeo and juliet, but he is the mage for hire in riften

Oh boy, I remember that feel.

WARNING: Major spoiler!

Lydia is a great companion early on, if your character is the charge-ahead-while-yelling-"Crom!" type. Which one of mine is, so he takes her everywhere. She took on three bandits at once, and beat them, while I cleared the rest. I keep reading that marriage is bugged for her; I don't know, I haven't tried. I sure did want to after that bandit fight. Um, I mean my character did. I try not to identify too closely with any of them. Although Lydia is kind of my type....

I'm not man enough to try hardcoe rp yet. My Bosmer girl was going through a dungeon with Argis. I'd just got an awesome kill animation after a brutal fight, and turned to high-five Argis... and saw him lying face-down on the floor. I have no idea what happened. He was just dead. I stood there, looking at him with shock and emptiness. Then I reloaded and refought the battle, making sure he stayed alive. But deep down, I know I got him killed. I'm going to smith him the best set of armor I possibly can, and never use him as a pack mule. Well, not too much. Anyway, I salute your honoring of a faithful companion. As she swore to carry your burdens, so did you carry her.

(I laugh every time she says her burdens line. Perfect inflection on the voice acting.)

After a bout lvl 15 or so I vowed that companion death would be permanent -> force me to explore the game a little more, experience different companions and live with the results of my actions.

I lost Lydia in a battle half-way up a mountain NE of Solitude consisting of the two of us plus 3 Stormcloaks against a dragon and a Sabertooth cat. I carried her body up tot he top of the mountain and sat next to her corpse watching the sun set. (I took her backpack but left her weapons and armour)
I was ok with it, I had made my decision and would stick to it ... everything would be ok.

And everything was OK, until I returned home, opened the door and stepped inside alone. I had never been home without Lydia by my side and it hit me like a kick in the guts.
R.I.P. Lyds, you won't be forgotten.

So we are NOT supposed to kill her?

I killed her after she was assigned, thought she was one of those Imperial scums...

Wow, thats some dedication!

Well, my Lydia is immortal because I never let her tag along, not even once(I generally avoid followers as much as I can).

I see her once every week or so when I go to Whiterun to drop off ingredients, books and dragon bones.

I don't know why she thinks metal armor and shield are best for housekeeping, but I don't really care as long as she keeps it clean.

I do... wedding night.

LMFAO

I'm glad to see so many hardcoe role players. I too let Lydia die when we were facing a butt load of Draugr. I did, however, say hello to her when I came back to pick up my stuff she had been carrying. Left her lying there without clothes in a pile of Draugr corpses.

Now I feel bad...

I'll pray for you Jake....lol

Lydia works fairly well with all my characters so far. I tend to give her good amulets/rings and heavy armour that help for two-handed attacks. She's gone down on one knee a few times, but we seem to always make it out alive. In fact, there are some times when she completely outshines me and I just look on and say "daaaaaaaaaamn". The most annoying thing I find about her is her annoying sarcasm when she says "I am sworn to carry your burdens". Other than that, no real complaints or frustrations. She's avoided traps with me and we help each other and seem to work to each other's strengths. I find her a valuable partner to have by my side. I really don't get a lot of this hatred for her.

"She gets in the way": She starts off with heavy armour, people. She even goes two-handed if you give her the right weapons. She's 'designed' to tank/aid in tanking. As someone who tends to prefer light armour, I find she works very well since I can help pick off her enemies with the bow, ease her burden with a good 'fus ro dah', and help out with some good hack and slash when the bow becomes unfeasible.

"She's useless": So one of the earliest followers you get which can fit a variety of tasks/weapon preferences as a jack-of-all-trades sort who just happens to help you in fights and carries your extra loot is 'useless'?

"She ruins my sneak": So leave her behind. I've asked her to hang back while I scout ahead and then go back and get her to come with me if the coast is clear for a good distance. My DB Assassin character still uses her but when they go to where the target is, I tell her to stay back. I then go, kill the person/steal what I need/want and then go back and reunite with her. This strategy has helped me fight off many hired thugs and bandits.

With a little effort and strategy, Lydia can be a fantastic companion; especially at lower levels.

It was late at night and i saw this giant fire. Ah, a nice warm fire. Until i freaked out, seeing it was inhabited with Giants. Then, a dragon swooped down and attacked us. Poor Lydia got gangbanged by both a dragon, 2 giants, and a mammoth! I placed her in the fire and let her burn, for a respectable burial. I came back months later to find the body gone, so i guess she incinerated. RIP Lydia. You were a good friend.

Agreed on the "Burden" sarcasm and yes she is meant to be heavy tank out of the gate, she was down but not out many times just to come back and stick an imperial from behind lifting them of the ground and saving my ass from a blind attack.

Ugh Lydia is not a human, but a robot. She has no emotions or opinions or personality whatsoever. I couldn't stand being around her.