I'd like to see less followers, but ones that you can control what abilities they use and when. They're so unpredictable and can make the game harder in parts when they attract unwanted attention or mindlessly trigger traps.
If they were to remove the essential flag on npcs, then I hope that they'd run for cover during dragon attacks and not try to fight them with their bare hands. I always hate when merchants are dead afterwards and during the fight, they don't try to get out of the way. Only guards, and the dragonborn, should be fighting them.
Pathfinding is the bigger issue with npcs lagging behind. If I'm traveling outdoors, I feel like I'm forced to stick to the roads so my follower doesn't get stuck, or take an alternate route, and end up getting attacked. Traveling with followers feels like babysitting, and that my character needs to hold their hand as to not get lost/separated.
Being able to "whistle" your horse would be a nice option, as they like to wander off, and many dungeons have you exit in a separate area, away from the dungeon entrance. I'm surprised that this option doesn't exist yet as many other games have such an option.