Fully acknowledging that the followers in Skyrim tend to be quite flat and one dimensional, I've noticed that some have considerably more personality than others and thus seem far less like meat shields or pack mules. I've also noticed that some have better AI than others. My personal favourite is Erandur, a Dunmer priest of Mara who will follow you after completing the Walking Nightmare quest in Dawnstar (providing you don't kill him as Vaermina demands ). He has a surprising amount to say; last night I heard him make six different comments while we were running around Ustengrav. He also talks about his past. Further, he's actually good in combat and easily rotates between his spells, mace, bow and any staves I've given him. I also like it when during combat he says "Nerevar Guide Me." That gives me warm and fuzzy Morrowind memories. This really makes me wonder if Bethesda had originally intended for the followers in Skyrim to be more fleshed out, but they abandoned the idea halfway through, so only some are a bit more interesting. Other favourites?
Cicero for the insane babbling and the fact that he can't die. He also has high scores in sneak which makes him ideal if you are playing a sneaky character yourself. He is part of my Dark Brotherhood "hit squad" which consists of me, Cicero, a Dark Brotherhood Initiate, the Spectral Assassin (Lucien Lachance. This guy has great lines too btw), and Shadowmere. None of these followers can die permanently except for Shadowmere, and that's only if he falls off a cliff.
Definitely agree with you on Shadowmere.. I like Lucien, don't get me wrong, but I find he actually talks *too* much... If I were using mods I'd probably get the one that makes him a touch quieter. I really like talkative companions, but when they are just repeating the same things all the time and frequently..... you want to strangle them It's just like, much as I appreciate Erandur... it's always his first time visiting Whiterun, you you just want to slap him sideways for not cluing in that you've already brought him to the place. I was tempted on my assassin to pick up Cicero.. but yikes.. that voice!
In the case of Cicero, he makes a good companion even if you're not a sneaky type, since you can actually direct him to assassinate (sneak attack) targets.
Followers & or Companions Greetings People, I am now knocking about the Jordis, (after the sad loss of Lydia) and she says very little, except "Wow" and "I don't like the look of this" but is she a good fighter and I have to say she is something else in her Daedric outfit. Lydia used to stand there and watch me get beaten to death, but Jordis gets stuck in there with the best of them and in fact there are times when I sit back and let her do the dirty work. By the way look for my comments on "Steam" in the general section. My signature is "Silence is a virtue" but this game has driven me to the edge.
