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Milo Jackson

New Member
I agree with you I had a very strong mage following me I'm a woodelf/assasin/archer/thief and I had a lot of fun with the mage other than a warrior follower. It just took out the whole aspect and idea of sneaking at all. And plus its more of a challenge without one.
 

Caideus

Member
HORSES!!!

"Oh, by the way, I killed a wolf. Now let's get you to Ivarstead."


Hmm, if only my horse had ever had this sort of attitude. But way too many times has my horse died… Now, I don't reclessly rush in to battle, hop off and start swinging. No, I see a fight coming up, I park my horse in a safe and reasonable distance away from the fight. I charge in, I start swinging, and then I notice that my horse had also charged into the fray. Sometimes I will even park further away, thinking it to be better. No, my horse will still charge and actually beat me. As if we were racing! No, so I gave up on horses… with of course, the exception of the Arvak!!! Now that is a fine steed, no more dumping septims when they are just going to die! Arvak is already dead and FREE!!

But with companions… if I have one, they wait outside of dungeons or I will have them park until the coast is all clear, then I will come back in them. After all, I will still need a that special pawn broker.
 
There he is: the bandit chief I’ve been hired to—ahem—take care of. So close I can hear him mumbling to himself, thinking he’s alone. But he’s not alone. I’m there, but I’m a shadow. A ghost. I’m as invisible as you can get without a spell or a potion. Finally, he turns his back to me—it’s time to strike. I inch forward, dagger held high and ready.

But as his head jerks up, I know something’s wrong. Maybe my stomach grumbled in protest of not seeing any solid food for a month, or perhaps he heard the hundreds of spare arrows rattling around in my Gallifreyan coin purse (it’s bigger on the inside). Whatever the reason, the bandit chief unsheathes his sword and asks—as if honestly expecting an answer—if anyone’s there.

No need to panic. I’ll just slip back into the shadows and wait for my next chance to sneak up on him. He’ll never know what hit him.

But then, behind me:

“I’LL KILL YOU IF I HAVE TO! RAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”

Damn it, Lydia.


What'd I do?


If this has ever happened to you, you’ll understand my frustration with followers in Skyrim. I was stunned to recently discover that my companionless style of play was not the norm, and can’t wrap my head around the reasons people take Lydia or Farkas or Mjoll on every excursion and adventure. So, I’m here today to make the case against followers.


STEALTH? WHAT’S THAT?

I learned very early on that there is no such thing as stealth when you have a follower with you. Unfortunately, this means that companions are more of a hindrance than a help to a stealth-based player. Sure, they’ll crouch when you crouch, but as my experience with the bandit chief should illustrate, their mimicry ends at the smallest sign of trouble. I suppose something can be said for allowing your companion to keep your enemy occupied while you fire arrows at him from a distance, but you can kiss those deadly—and awesome—backstabs goodbye.


OOPS, SORRY ABOUT THAT...

Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time keeping track of who’s a friend and who’s a foe in battles. I can’t tell you how many Stormcloaks I’ve accidentally killed during sieges on Imperial forts, or how many times I swung at Karliah or Brynjolf instead of the Falmers we were supposed to be fighting. Everyone moves around so quickly! And it’s always so dark! How am I supposed to focus on killing my enemy when I can’t even tell who my enemy is?

When I do know who’s who, I still manage to hit friendlies because they absolutely love getting in the way. It never fails: the second you wind up for that power attack, your companion will jump right in front of you and take that axe to the neck. They are your sword and shield... and, apparently, your target practice.


WATCH OUT!

Have you ever taken a follower into a dungeon laced with traps? You can tiptoe around those pressure plates all you want, but they’re like magnets to companions. You’re guaranteed to be hit by poison darts or singed by fire no matter how cautious you are, because your companions just don’t care—possibly because they, unlike you, are nearly immortal. After getting knocked off of her feet once by a swinging spiked gate, you’d think that Lydia would know not to step on that pressure plate a second time. Or a third time. Or a fourth time. But she does, and gets back up, unscathed, every time. Must be nice!


MOVE IT OR LOSE IT

Companions really like to block doorways, staircases, and narrow corridors. This is the true purpose of Fus Ro Dah, you know. Forget dragons! We need that shout to push our followers out of the way, so we don’t starve to death, trapped in some tiny room we can’t escape because Lydia refuses to move. Those programmers, they’re always two steps ahead.


JUST SHUT UP

One of the biggest complaints I hear about companions is that they’re one-dimensional when it comes to dialogue; either they say next to nothing, or they say the same things again and again and again. You can only hear “I am your sword and your shield” so many times before wanting to hurl yourself off of the Throat of the World.

But my issue with follower dialogue is a little different: they have a knack for choosing the most inappropriate response possible for whatever situation you’re in. This can make for some comical moments, but mostly it just makes me want to rip my hair out. In one memorable incident, I killed a Draugr that was attacking Mercer Frey while we traversed Snow Veil Sanctum. How does he show his gratitude? By angrily shouting, “Hey, watch it!” because I happened to get within sword’s reach of him while saving his life. Sorry, Mercer! Next time I’ll just let the Draugr eat you! This goes hand in hand with the problem of followers throwing themselves between your weapon and your enemy; as soon as they willingly impale themselves upon your blade, they’re snapping at you to be careful. Makes sense.


MARCO? MARCO? MAAARCOOO?

It’s a shame that Belethor doesn’t sell leashes in his general goods store, because they’d come in really handy for followers. They have this uncanny talent for getting lost, especially if you happen to be traversing terrain that isn’t completely flat. Which is to say, if you happen to be anywhere in Skyrim. The very few instances I chose to take a follower along on an adventure, the majority of my time was spent making sure they were still behind me, or backtracking to wherever they’d gotten stuck to lead them by the hand around that pesky pebble that was confounding them. A couple of times I noticed Lydia stop dead in her tracks for no apparent reason, only to set off again once a respectable distance of a mile or so was between us. Maybe she’s just antisocial.

This becomes much more of a problem if you’ve gifted your follower with high-end weapons and armor, or stashed valuable loot on them once you’ve hit your carry weight limit. Then, losing your companion also means losing all your goods, thus negating the one useful purpose companions actually have: being a pack mule.


YOU’RE STEALING MY THUNDER

What happens when your follower fights half of every battle for you? You get half of the skill growth. Forget about improving your heavy armor skill if Lydia’s the one taking all the hits from those Draugrs. And you’ll never get your sneak skill to fifty when Farkas is always charging in like a bull. At first, it’ll be frustrating that it’s taking you so long to get that one-handed perk you’ve been itching for, but the real danger lies in the long-term effect of companions stealing your thunder: with your battle skills progressing slower than your other skills, your enemies—who level at the same pace as you—will eventually outclass you in the ability to fight. Good luck fighting Alduin solo when your level significantly outranks your actual battle prowess!


RIDDLE ME THIS

In my experience, companions in Skyrim are about as thick as day-old Potage le Magnifique. Why, then, do so many people use them? Have I just had phenomenally bad luck? My biased perspective may be blinding me to the positives of Skyrim’s buddy system, so I’d love to hear what you enjoy about followers!

I’d also like challenge you to try a few quests without a companion, if you typically take one everywhere. You may find that you prefer being a lone wolf... or, your appreciation for followers may deepen after you find yourself the singular target of a couple of trolls. Either way, it’s great to experience Skyrim from both sides—which is why I will be making an effort to get poor Lydia out of Breezehome every now and then in my own game.

Let’s just hope we don’t come across any more bandit chiefs.


To be honest everything you mention has some truth to it, but I believe that it is better to have a companion along with you than being completely companionless. My reasons are as follows-

* Sneaking-

You say that companions are terrible sneakers and yell at their foes. I have not had trouble with this. When I sneak they sneak just as quietly. And my follower (Uthegaurd) does not attack an enemy unless I make the first blow. I do believe that after you do make the first blow, your companion will attack, but if you want to stay hidden from your enemy, and not have your follower give away your position than I suggest you give them a bow which they will use from long range. Or you could give them the command to 'Wait Here', and pick them up after your done assassinating the enemy.

*They are a good Distraction-

I am on the Cultists quest right now and I found that they are a good distraction when I kill the lurkers that come out of the stones. While the lurker focuses on Uthegaurd, I start slashing him from behind and finish him off while not taking any damage myself, and I don't feel bad for Uthegaurd cause she never dies, so she is like a fighting punching bag really. This technique is good for fighting any sort of for.

*Killing Dragons-

I find that followers help a lot when killing dragons, especially if you give them a bow and an Axe. For instance, when I killed Alduin, Uthegaurd would hit him with arrows, and I with 'Dragonrend', and when he landed we would both grab our axes and start hacking away.

*Avoiding Traps in Dungeons-

I have found that when I went to the Dwemer Dungeons in The Elder Knowledge quest that Mercurio actually informed me when we were close to traps, and he avoided the traps as well, so maybe some followers are stupider than others? Because my Lydia died from a frostbite spider, which are really easy enimies, but my Uthegaurd hasn't died once yet.

*Carrying Things-

Also you can make good use of the weapons and armor you aren't using by giving it to your follower or giving them all the heavy misc. Items.

So all in all I believe having a follower is for the better and makes killing foes twice as easier. ;) Have a fabulous day guys!!!!
 
Great article! All of what you say is so true. Despite that however, I still like the followers at lower levels. My last character quit taking them as I didn't need them any longer to help keep me alive. However, my new character, a pure mage, still has one at level 29. I tried to go it alone with him, but he still died too often, so back to Mjoll it was. But that doesn't mean your points are irrelevant. They are relevant and true. But I still like them any way. ;)
 

The Wooden Dagger

New Member
Pro's:
  • Human Shield OP
  • Mobile Bank
  • Help during fight, especially when playing a squishy character.
  • The dialogues are awesome (when you have Cicero as a companion).
  • It feels nicer wandering with a companion when you know a random dragon shows up.
  • If you feel like wandering alone for some time, you can always let them wait at your house. ..At least if you trust them with your wife (a)
Cons:
  • They block the way sometimes.
  • They sometimes ignore you sneaking and charge in.
  • You have the freedom to pick a companion that's a good match-up with your character.
  • They sometimes block your range attacks.
  • They finish off enemies that you can easily kill on your own.
 

rz3300

New Member
It seems like there are a million reasons to love them and then a million and one reasons to hate them. I can see both sides, but you are right in that they seem to get in the way a lot. It is always when you least want it to happen too, so a bit of a Murphy's Law thing going on. It is just another necessary evil though, so I would just focus on the good side.
 

Joanner1210

New Member
I feel you man! especially that im building an assassin type of khajiit character. I really like killing people with stealth mode on. I love slitting the throats of the enemies lol. XD and being silent always, but when I tried having a follower, like you, Lydia it destroyed my play style coz she always charge to the enemies that I didnt kill because i ran off for another try. Thuglife Lydia. :D :D
 

dblanch

New Member
The only follower I've ever enjoined is the vampire lady from the Dawnguard DLC (I can't remember her name for the life of me at this moment). She had unique animations, would comment on innocuous things going on around you. She actually felt real, opposed to all the rest who felt very wooden.
 

Bluesnow222

New Member
Damn it, Lydia.

This pretty much summarizes my feelings.... and my Name IRL is Lydia xD

I usually will play a mage and I end up accidentally killing most of my helpers by accident... the entire time screaming "Get out of the way Lydia!" and my boyfriend asks if I need to go to a mental institution since he thinks I"m talking to myself.
 

CemeteryGates23

New Member
Damn it, Lydia.

This pretty much summarizes my feelings.... and my Name IRL is Lydia xD

I usually will play a mage and I end up accidentally killing most of my helpers by accident... the entire time screaming "Get out of the way Lydia!" and my boyfriend asks if I need to go to a mental institution since he thinks I"m talking to myself.

That's hilarious!
I love having Lydia along as a pack mule, but I facepalm and reload every time I unleash apower attack and Lydia rushes in, then I her corpse flying forward as she grunts in defeat...
 

Xalia13

New Member
Companions definitely make being stealthy a chore. I would rather not have them and summon everything. I keep the Sanguine Rose on me along with my Spectral Assassin and summons for distractions if battle begins. I can always just devour everyone as a werewolf if it is called for. I guess John Cena is an acceptable companion since you can't see him. :p I apologize...I am a dork.
 

Eden

Soymilk drinker
Well lets see...
Teldryn Sero randomly attacked Mirabelle, she killed him, I had to reload...
Later on he glitched entirely, wouldn't talk and just walk very slowly... Not attacking the enemy but just standing in front of them, getting slain down till he eventually died (I didn't reload as I got fed up with his behaviour, at least I got his armor now) I heard this is a common issue tho (but I didn't encounter this problem in my previous gameplay)

Marcurio KILLED MY DOG. He's still my fave follower tho, very strong in battle and he says funny things.
I also liked Rayya a lot but she died in battle, was a hard battle I rather not do again so RIP

And followers in general always blocking the door... With Lydia it helps to press the run button, but some others I had to fight outta my way...
Or when I'm avoiding traps, then my follower decides to carelessly run around so I still get hurt...

Oh and what I experienced with both Lydia and Calder... "You're not supposed to be in here" in certain places... Can't talk to them either till I'm outside again...

Argis the Bulwark would randomly attack Shadowmere... I don't have the horse (or Argis) yet in my new gameplay but yeahhh that was annoying...

Yesterday I married Brelyna, tho I'm scared to use her as follower now, the glitch might strike again (Teldryn problem wasn't too long ago) and I rather not lose my wife...

Oh and btw I play on Xbox One and I don't use mods/console commands.
 

Drux

Seinfeld (1989) by Jerry Seinfeld
Hmm, yes followers can get very annoying quickly. From what I have experienced whenever I have followers around is that they block my way in doorways, they activate traps and I almost die, and they ruin my sneaking. And vanilla flowers, IMO, are kinda bland. I would recommend follower mods like Inigo or Lucien.
 

Eaglespirit

Member
I am glad there are others who dislike followers, I always play as a loner well up to the part when Serana joins you, I do not have the heart to send her away after Dawnguard, she can be a pain but she comes across so lonely and she does have a sense of humour. But yeah mostly I prefer to be a loner in my game.
 

Darchangel21

New Member
There he is: the bandit chief I’ve been hired to—ahem—take care of. So close I can hear him mumbling to himself, thinking he’s alone. But he’s not alone. I’m there, but I’m a shadow. A ghost. I’m as invisible as you can get without a spell or a potion. Finally, he turns his back to me—it’s time to strike. I inch forward, dagger held high and ready.

But as his head jerks up, I know something’s wrong. Maybe my stomach grumbled in protest of not seeing any solid food for a month, or perhaps he heard the hundreds of spare arrows rattling around in my Gallifreyan coin purse (it’s bigger on the inside). Whatever the reason, the bandit chief unsheathes his sword and asks—as if honestly expecting an answer—if anyone’s there.

No need to panic. I’ll just slip back into the shadows and wait for my next chance to sneak up on him. He’ll never know what hit him.

But then, behind me:

“I’LL KILL YOU IF I HAVE TO! RAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!”

Damn it, Lydia.


View attachment 683
What'd I do?


If this has ever happened to you, you’ll understand my frustration with followers in Skyrim. I was stunned to recently discover that my companionless style of play was not the norm, and can’t wrap my head around the reasons people take Lydia or Farkas or Mjoll on every excursion and adventure. So, I’m here today to make the case against followers.


STEALTH? WHAT’S THAT?

I learned very early on that there is no such thing as stealth when you have a follower with you. Unfortunately, this means that companions are more of a hindrance than a help to a stealth-based player. Sure, they’ll crouch when you crouch, but as my experience with the bandit chief should illustrate, their mimicry ends at the smallest sign of trouble. I suppose something can be said for allowing your companion to keep your enemy occupied while you fire arrows at him from a distance, but you can kiss those deadly—and awesome—backstabs goodbye.


OOPS, SORRY ABOUT THAT...

Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time keeping track of who’s a friend and who’s a foe in battles. I can’t tell you how many Stormcloaks I’ve accidentally killed during sieges on Imperial forts, or how many times I swung at Karliah or Brynjolf instead of the Falmers we were supposed to be fighting. Everyone moves around so quickly! And it’s always so dark! How am I supposed to focus on killing my enemy when I can’t even tell who my enemy is?

When I do know who’s who, I still manage to hit friendlies because they absolutely love getting in the way. It never fails: the second you wind up for that power attack, your companion will jump right in front of you and take that axe to the neck. They are your sword and shield... and, apparently, your target practice.


WATCH OUT!

Have you ever taken a follower into a dungeon laced with traps? You can tiptoe around those pressure plates all you want, but they’re like magnets to companions. You’re guaranteed to be hit by poison darts or singed by fire no matter how cautious you are, because your companions just don’t care—possibly because they, unlike you, are nearly immortal. After getting knocked off of her feet once by a swinging spiked gate, you’d think that Lydia would know not to step on that pressure plate a second time. Or a third time. Or a fourth time. But she does, and gets back up, unscathed, every time. Must be nice!


MOVE IT OR LOSE IT

Companions really like to block doorways, staircases, and narrow corridors. This is the true purpose of Fus Ro Dah, you know. Forget dragons! We need that shout to push our followers out of the way, so we don’t starve to death, trapped in some tiny room we can’t escape because Lydia refuses to move. Those programmers, they’re always two steps ahead.


JUST SHUT UP

One of the biggest complaints I hear about companions is that they’re one-dimensional when it comes to dialogue; either they say next to nothing, or they say the same things again and again and again. You can only hear “I am your sword and your shield” so many times before wanting to hurl yourself off of the Throat of the World.

But my issue with follower dialogue is a little different: they have a knack for choosing the most inappropriate response possible for whatever situation you’re in. This can make for some comical moments, but mostly it just makes me want to rip my hair out. In one memorable incident, I killed a Draugr that was attacking Mercer Frey while we traversed Snow Veil Sanctum. How does he show his gratitude? By angrily shouting, “Hey, watch it!” because I happened to get within sword’s reach of him while saving his life. Sorry, Mercer! Next time I’ll just let the Draugr eat you! This goes hand in hand with the problem of followers throwing themselves between your weapon and your enemy; as soon as they willingly impale themselves upon your blade, they’re snapping at you to be careful. Makes sense.


MARCO? MARCO? MAAARCOOO?

It’s a shame that Belethor doesn’t sell leashes in his general goods store, because they’d come in really handy for followers. They have this uncanny talent for getting lost, especially if you happen to be traversing terrain that isn’t completely flat. Which is to say, if you happen to be anywhere in Skyrim. The very few instances I chose to take a follower along on an adventure, the majority of my time was spent making sure they were still behind me, or backtracking to wherever they’d gotten stuck to lead them by the hand around that pesky pebble that was confounding them. A couple of times I noticed Lydia stop dead in her tracks for no apparent reason, only to set off again once a respectable distance of a mile or so was between us. Maybe she’s just antisocial.

This becomes much more of a problem if you’ve gifted your follower with high-end weapons and armor, or stashed valuable loot on them once you’ve hit your carry weight limit. Then, losing your companion also means losing all your goods, thus negating the one useful purpose companions actually have: being a pack mule.


YOU’RE STEALING MY THUNDER

What happens when your follower fights half of every battle for you? You get half of the skill growth. Forget about improving your heavy armor skill if Lydia’s the one taking all the hits from those Draugrs. And you’ll never get your sneak skill to fifty when Farkas is always charging in like a bull. At first, it’ll be frustrating that it’s taking you so long to get that one-handed perk you’ve been itching for, but the real danger lies in the long-term effect of companions stealing your thunder: with your battle skills progressing slower than your other skills, your enemies—who level at the same pace as you—will eventually outclass you in the ability to fight. Good luck fighting Alduin solo when your level significantly outranks your actual battle prowess!


RIDDLE ME THIS

In my experience, companions in Skyrim are about as thick as day-old Potage le Magnifique. Why, then, do so many people use them? Have I just had phenomenally bad luck? My biased perspective may be blinding me to the positives of Skyrim’s buddy system, so I’d love to hear what you enjoy about followers!

I’d also like challenge you to try a few quests without a companion, if you typically take one everywhere. You may find that you prefer being a lone wolf... or, your appreciation for followers may deepen after you find yourself the singular target of a couple of trolls. Either way, it’s great to experience Skyrim from both sides—which is why I will be making an effort to get poor Lydia out of Breezehome every now and then in my own game.

Let’s just hope we don’t come across any more bandit chiefs.


To be honest everything you mention has some truth to it, but I believe that it is better to have a companion along with you than being completely companionless. My reasons are as follows-

* Sneaking-

You say that companions are terrible sneakers and yell at their foes. I have not had trouble with this. When I sneak they sneak just as quietly. And my follower (Uthegaurd) does not attack an enemy unless I make the first blow. I do believe that after you do make the first blow, your companion will attack, but if you want to stay hidden from your enemy, and not have your follower give away your position than I suggest you give them a bow which they will use from long range. Or you could give them the command to 'Wait Here', and pick them up after your done assassinating the enemy.

*They are a good Distraction-

I am on the Cultists quest right now and I found that they are a good distraction when I kill the lurkers that come out of the stones. While the lurker focuses on Uthegaurd, I start slashing him from behind and finish him off while not taking any damage myself, and I don't feel bad for Uthegaurd cause she never dies, so she is like a fighting punching bag really. This technique is good for fighting any sort of for.

*Killing Dragons-

I find that followers help a lot when killing dragons, especially if you give them a bow and an Axe. For instance, when I killed Alduin, Uthegaurd would hit him with arrows, and I with 'Dragonrend', and when he landed we would both grab our axes and start hacking away.

*Avoiding Traps in Dungeons-

I have found that when I went to the Dwemer Dungeons in The Elder Knowledge quest that Mercurio actually informed me when we were close to traps, and he avoided the traps as well, so maybe some followers are stupider than others? Because my Lydia died from a frostbite spider, which are really easy enimies, but my Uthegaurd hasn't died once yet.

*Carrying Things-

Also you can make good use of the weapons and armor you aren't using by giving it to your follower or giving them all the heavy misc. Items.

So all in all I believe having a follower is for the better and makes killing foes twice as easier. ;) Have a fabulous day guys!!!!
I specifically hate Lydia because of the fact that after you've stepped around a pressure plate and thanked goodness you saw it in time, she steps right on top of it and you get smacked anyways. Lydia is an idiot and I never keep her for long as a housecarl.
 

Darchangel21

New Member
It seems like there are a million reasons to love them and then a million and one reasons to hate them. I can see both sides, but you are right in that they seem to get in the way a lot. It is always when you least want it to happen too, so a bit of a Murphy's Law thing going on. It is just another necessary evil though, so I would just focus on the good side.
I'd say that if they block the door or something, just use command mode to tell them to shove it somewhere else.
 

Darchangel21

New Member
I don't really hate having followers... unless it's Lydia. So far, I don't have too much trouble with them, aside from their occasionally getting right in my line of fire, and yes, blocking doorways. But for me, when it comes down to it, it's just plain nice having an extra set of hands in a fight. To me, that's kinda worth putting up with some of the frustration. But Lydia is one I will not abide any longer than I have to. I don't really have much difficulty with glitchy followers. At first, Calder would brush the finger at me for breaking into places, but I guess somehow he figured out sooner or later that it's just what I do as a Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood member and he finally just shut up about it. Anymore he pretty much just goes with whatever I do.
 

Anarchist51

New Member
Personally I love my followers first Lydia and now Uthgerd has save my butt a bunch of times. I gave them a staff of flames and they nuke everything that comes close so I can finish it off.
I always give them the second best weapon I own so they can deal some good damage. And I make sure they have the second best armor right behind mine. I use them as tanks to back me up.

You have to learn how to deal with followers. You park them and tell them to wait while you go do whatever you need to do alone. That way they do not rush out and cause problems. The only problem I have with followers is they occasionally nuke me with their staves. LOL

I love Uthgerd, she kicks butt. Lydia was nice and I married her, but I think dear old Urthie is so much better and she has a house I can use as extra temp storage.. I role play and so I give her stuff just like I would a companion who I am working with. So I periodically go to her house and store what her share might be. Yeah I know it is stupid but for me it makes her seem like something more than just a robot. I also worry about her and try to keep her alive by healing spells.
Anyway I would die a lot more without my buddy backup.
 
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