Who, in your opinion, is the best follower?

[Panthera]

I like the spectral assasin as a companion because if he dies you can just summon him again! And you can have a living companion at the same time if you so wish.

It's a pain to sneak around with him...

 

[Arcano1881]

Follower levels are capped depending on the follower; lvl 20, 25, 30, 40, 50 and 81 (J'zargo.) the general rule concerning level is, after patch 1.6, the level of the player x 1.25. Previously the cap was your level when you met them as NikolaTesla said. As all housecarls cap at lvl 50 I chose Argis the Bulwark, strong, eager for battle and reliable as a tank, boasting 671 health without his enchanted armor. At lvl 50 he took down a Giant and a Dwarven Centurion Master simultaneously whilst I kicked my feet up. Vilkas is also a reliable follower as well as all other companions leaders capping at 50.

J'zargo is strong and good with Heavy Armor but if you want a full blown warrior he will use destruction magic until his magicka is drained, all depends on your playstyle really, he is a bit of a battlemage.

Hope this helped, it was my first post. Thanks

 

[Ste Eccles]

Purely because of the way they speak in the third person, and because of the arrogance... I keep expecting to hear "Can you smell, what J'zargo is cooking?" from the most electrifying companion in all of Skyrim

 

[Arcano1881]

We're being ThreadNecromancers LOL

 

[ShadowGambit]

There are no "best follower" per se.

The best well rounded and that level with you till 81 (no need for Wabbajack) is the Dark Brotherhood initiate. He sneaks well, shoot decently with a bow, melee quite well with dual-wield. Only downside is their strange requirement in dual wield: Fornsworn weapons only. Note that you can have a DBI AND another follower with you at the same time using a glitch.

Now, there are "best suited" follower depending on your needs and your level.

You need a tank? go for a Housecarl, they all have the same stats. level till 50.

You need a damage dealer? Mjoll the Lionness. Furthermore, she is tagged as essential and cannot die. Vilkas does more damage but is not essential...

You need a sneaky assassin? Outside of the DBI, Cicero hands down. But you have to cope with its pretty annoying voices and comments. He is also essential, so cannot die.

You need a sneaky archer? Go for Aela or Jenassa. Jenassa is better under 40, as she is capped at 40. Aela goes up to 50. But Jenassa is better at melee if needed. Furthermore, Jenassa has no morality. At would go Jenassa myself, because at 40, she would have capped her essential skills.

You need a Mage? As a defensive mage, J'zargo is better and he can level till 81 (Wabbajack needed though). Offensive mage, Marcurio is better suited because has more appropriate spells, but only level till 40.

You need a summoner? Eola, does it pretty well, if you can stand her bad habits.

I think it pretty much covers it though.

 

[Psiberzerker]

My favorite is Jenassa, because of her personality. She's also good at Sneaking, Archery, Dual Wield, won't refuse to do anything (Except sleep in an Owned bed, with her typical dry wit) and will do the usual "You're not supposed to be in here" when tresspassing. If it weren't for the Hunting Bow Glitch, she'd be perfect.

 

[Arcano1881]

DBI is very useful especially if u do double follower glitch with them

 

[Psiberzerker]

You need a sneaky archer? Go for Aela or Jenassa. Jenassa is better under 40, as she is capped at 40. Aela goes up to 50. But Jenassa is better at melee if needed. Furthermore, Jenassa has no morality. At would go Jenassa myself, because at 40, she would have capped her essential skills.

Aela's Essential too, for most of the game, and you don't have to finish her quest arc to make her mortal. She doesn't Sneak as well, but tanks a bit better. They're both about the same on Archery, though. Don't pay so much attention to Level, it doesn't mean as much for NPCs as the narrator. Some are more effective at thirty than others at 40. Mjoll's pretty much the ultimate Tank. She's generally 2H, but does fine with Grimsever and a shield.

 

[Arcano1881]

If u marry Alexa she becomes non essential as with every other marriage candidate I think

 

[ShadowGambit]

Mjoll is not specced in One-handed though, making her less efficient with Slash and Board template.

 

[Squirrel_killer-]

hate to ruin the whole contest here, but there is no "best follower". All followers stay the same level as you, throughout the game, meaning: if you get Lydia at level 3 she will stay level 3 for the rest of the game, no matter if you dismiss her or not. So the best follower you be a follower you attain at the highest level. But in terms of best to have around? Cicero, all the way. he is hilarious.

Correction with the Wabbajack you can re-scale them to your level, otherwise due to a glitch they won't scale, though they are supposed to scale with you. However most followers scale to about 50 at most, but the Dark Brotherhood Initiates scale to a max level of 81 (technically 100 if you look at their programming, but player level cap is 81), and are essential making them far superior to every other follower at that level. Also different followers do have different stats. So in theory, and my experience, with one follower at level 1 could be much better than another which is at level 5 both using the same equipment.

But I do believe this was a preference question. My preference is Dremora Lord summons. They come, they kill, they go away leaving me to sneak unhindered.

 

[drem yol lok]

I guess its because she is new but I'M rolling with Serena.

 

[ShadowGambit]

I guess its because she is new but I'M rolling with Serena.

PC use just got their hand on Dawnguard, and PS3 users don't have it yet.

My guess is that for Dawnguard followers, we will have to wait a little bit more to give opinion on all console.

 

[Psiberzerker]

Mjoll is not specced in One-handed though, making her less efficient with Slash and Board template.

Try it. I know what the template says, but give her Windshear, and watch her stunlock everthing, just like anyone else. Her 1H isn't as high, but she can still use it effectively. Of course, I usually give her Volendrung, but even Faendal is a masher with that damned thing. Ahtar is pretty damned effective with the Ebony Blade, too. Don't just base your minmaxing on what the wiki, or CK code says, test it, then correct me.

 

[ShadowGambit]

I didn't say she is not efficient as a slash and board. I said she is LESS efficient than a housecarl for that purpose.

She is specced in Block, I admit. So her bash attack would be good.

But then here we are talking about Slash and Board. You are negating the slash in that case, focusing on the board.

If you are looking for tank slash and board, then Housecarl would be better. They also be doing the same as Mjoll, but at the end, they will kill faster. Their health is about 100 higher at level 50 (i know, Mjoll can only get to 40), their stamina is a little higher. Their one Handed weapon is maxed, when Mjoll only goes up to 50 or so. All block to 100 though. Only downside: they are not essential.

It is like my character wearing Shield in one hand and Bound bow is the other (a spec idea that you mentioned on this board, I have to say). no 1 handed weapon. Using just Bashing to to damage in melee, but mostly to stunlock.

 

[Psiberzerker]

I didn't say she is not efficient as a slash and board. I said she is LESS efficient than a housecarl for that purpose.

She is specced in Block, I admit. So her bash attack would be good.

But then here we are talking about Slash and Board. You are negating the slash in that case, focusing on the board.

If you are looking for tank slash and board, then Housecarl would be better. They also be doing the same as Mjoll, but at the end, they will kill faster. Their health is about 100 higher at level 50 (i know, Mjoll can only get to 40), their stamina is a little higher. Their one Handed weapon is maxed, when Mjoll only goes up to 50 or so. All block to 100 though. Only downside: they are not essential.

It is like my character wearing Shield in one hand and Bound bow is the other (a spec idea that you mentioned on this board, I have to say). no 1 handed weapon. Using just Bashing to to damage in melee, but mostly to stunlock.

I switch between them, but remember Grimsever (the sword I mentioned) is her sword, slows the enemy. Sure, it doesn't do that much damage in her hand, but that's not what makes it effective. To me, Tank&Spank isn't about letting your follower do all the damage for you, but keep the enemy busy so you can kill them without a fight. And you don't need a Shield to Tank, especially if you're essential with a good 2H, which she is.

 

[Akim]

As a Bosmer Assassin I made it to about level 40 before ever using a follower I didn't have to use. Now I play around with it every once in awhile, but I'm still usually more efficient on my own. Most humanoid type characters I can sneak up on and throat slit without alerting anyone, or at least get a 30x damage sneak attack which is usually good for one or two hits. Mainly use a bow (first skill I got to 100, then sneak) and can often clear out rooms of a dozen of the tougher Draugr Deathlords and such without them even finding me, just by sneak sniping.

So, now when I have a follower they have to be a good sneak and archer. Aela, who I married, is pretty good for this. She stays back when I'm sniping and does her stuff, and can handle her own up close. DBI are probably the best, but kind of boring IMO. Cicero is less boring, but much more annoying, etc... I wish I could get Karliah as a follower again.

Or sometimes I'll have fun with J'zargo cause that dude is crazy and pretty tough. He seems to love to get into trouble with me in the cities doing pickpocket jobs for the Thieves Guild and such. Fail a pickpocket attempt and watch the guards forget about me as J'zargo goes berserk on them until he runs out of Mana...

But, yeah, followers are pretty much just if I'm bored, or need to unload a bunch of loot, as I play much more efficiently on my own. But I don't even need any more gold so I'm not sure the point of getting/selling loot is any more... Force of habit from playing years of Elder Scrolls games, I guess...

 

[Akim]

Oh, and if you watch Robbaz, you'll know Walrus is the best follower.

And you should watch Robbaz, because he's amazing.

 

[Khaos the Argonian]

I would have said J'zargo, but after Dawnguard it's Serana all the way

 

[Dagmar]

Correction with the Wabbajack you can re-scale them to your level, otherwise due to a glitch they won't scale, though they are supposed to scale with you.

When NikolaTesla posted, very few people, if any, realized that the Wabbajack could be used to reset followers. It also doesn't work on followers that are essential like Mjoll or the Dark Brotherhood Initiates.

However most followers scale to about 50 at most, but the Dark Brotherhood Initiates scale to a max level of 81 (technically 100 if you look at their programming, but player level cap is 81), and are essential making them far superior to every other follower at that level.

Being level 81 doesn't equate to being far superior. Followers that cap at 50 have primary stats at 100 the same as a level 81 follower. For the most part the only significant difference is their health/magicka/stamina. But as a spellcaster J'zargo at level 81 only has 40 more magicka then Marcurio does at level 40, and his spells are no better than Marcurio's other than that he has a wider variety (but some of which he never uses). J'zargo does have the advantage of being specced to be a battlemage or spellsword but that advantage only increases marginally from level 50 to 81 (from 96 to 100 in Heavy Armor skill) other than his health, and since you can cap his armor rating at level 50 almost as easily as you can at level 81 the extra health offers little practical advantage. The bottom line is that the difference between a level 50 follower and a level 81 follower for the ones that can level to 81 has very little practical value because their damage output doesn't really increase and for the Dark Brotherhood Initiates, they're unkillable anyway so any increase in health or armor skill from level 50 to level 81 is negligible.

But I do believe this was a preference question. My preference is Dremora Lord summons. They come, they kill, they go away leaving me to sneak unhindered.

Those aren't followers.