use any of the staffs I give him? even if I use console command removeallitems to get rid of his weapons, he'll punch stuff with this fists when out of mana.

edit: he'll use swords and other melee weapons no problem

Weird.. No idea man.. Maybe his fists are better then the staff?

This happened in my game, too, with both J'zargo and Onmund. As soon as I got a melee companion, though, they would equip the staves with no problem. No clue.

okay, maybe I'll try switching to Lydia and back. come to think of it, I've been having this problem with every caster companion