It means using them to hold all there items until they hit there max carrying capacity. Often called pack mules.What do you mean by using them as a pack horse?
I too use mine mostly as a packhorse, but also to keep my list of items short so I don't have to scroll as much looking for the potion I need in the heat of battle. (No, I don't need a reminder I can Quick Key it.) : )
They are helpful in drawing attention away from you though, I have to say that.
In my last game, I was addicted to having the Verminah (SP) priest with me as I had neglected magic entirely but he was awesome at using the staffs i found and weilding his own spells.
Don't think I would want to go it alone, reagardless of the followers shortcomings and annoyances.
Well my follower is useful enough he can kill elder dragons unarmed without losing much health.
I give my follower all the best gear and weapons, and is very useful on a hard boss, or group of enemies. He distracts them and I kill them. My follower currently has all daedric armor and weapons. Hes almost unkillable now.
My follower is a melee class fighter. I've given her the Sanguine Rose and she uses it to conjure a dremora in virtually every battle. So while both of them are keeping the enemies busy, I sneak around the back and pick people off with my bow. Only time I dont take my follower is for sneak/stealth type missions.
I lost Lydia way back when I was low level (10ish). The followers, for some reason, don't know anything about shortcuts. I was running in mountains, straight downhill, while she decided it was better to take a 3 mile paved road. Haven't seen her since and I will keep it that way. I don't really loot much and as a sneaky archer, I don't need companions. Besides, once she blocked me in a narrow, dead-end tunnel and I couldn't get out... had to reload.
I'm better off alone.
i had lydia when i went up against a bunch of bandits. she did great. and shes the one who killed the first dragon at the watchtower. no problem there. but then we got attacked by a dragon in the open and he did a low altitude dive bomb attack and she was gone. i think the dragon grabbed her and dropped her from the air somewhere. i never found her body. then i had jenassa and she was a great companion. but she went mia when i started the db quest. i went to sleep and woke up in the shack never seen her since. then i had aela in full dragonscale and her sneak is pretty high and we had some great adventures. then we got married and she stayed home to run the store. but the ebony blade kept whispering to me in my dreams about how it would be so strong if it had her soul. i gave in one day in a dungeon and the blade got to taste her soul. now im wifeless and companionless. forever alone with a blade that doesnt shut up and is only one point stronger.
It means using them to hold all there items until they hit there max carrying capacity. Often called pack mules.
This. Her plus a summoned Dremora from the Sanguine Rose means a lot of the time I can sneak up behind dragons and beat the crap out of them.Lydia has been with me ever since I became Thone of WhiteRun. Although she might provide inconveniences (blocking doorways, getting in the way during fights, etc.), it is necessary to keep her around as a pack mule and as a distraction for dragons. It is much easier to deal with dragons when you have another living person around you as a diversion for the dragon.