Death Hound vs Dawnguard Husky

[Slowbro]

there's not very much info about either online, but here's a few things I've observed just from playing

CuSith and Garmr
-will become hostile to vampires if talked to while vampires are in the main hall/dining area. I assume you can only recruit them after a certain amount of time (they stopped being hostile when everyone was asleep in their coffins/walking around randomly)
-bites deal frost damage
-drops collar as a useless trophy??? I'd really like to know if they truly have a purpose
-no barking! a huge plus for these guys
-they don't seem to have very good defenses as Garmr died very easily in battle from enemy attack and from my own accidental swings
-overall really cool looking. would be a great dog for those using Shadowmere (who doesn't want two red-eyed, dark animals?)

Bran and Sceolang
-available after Fort Dawnguard gets upgraded
-really detailed looking, much more than the wolfhounds like Meeko and Barbas
-they can take down vampires in one hit, maybe their bites deal some kind of sun damage??
-they don't drop an extra item like their counterparts (then again, the dogs available as followers look completely different than the huskies used by the dawnguard if you side with the vampires. Bran and Sceolang appear larger, more detailed, and don't wear helmets)
-I think these two have superior health or possibly an armor rating. at one point Serana glitched and started attacking Bran and Barbas, after a good minute of trying to figure out exactly what was going on, Bran was still alive. I don't think I could say the same about the 'regular' huskies, as my lvl 18 vampire took them down with one smack
-their bark is quite loud, but is different than the wolfhounds. to me that is kinda less annoying
-these dogs are capable of 'teleportation' meaning if they get to far from you, then will reappear by your side some time later even if you haven't changed areas. I don't know if this is a glitch or if the death hounds can also do this. I've only witnessed this happening while watching my bf play
-these guys really enjoy jump attacks

as for the leveling of both dogs I have no clue if they're fixed at a certain level or level with the player like Vigilance. I've seen CuSith labeled as 'level 5' somewhere. my dawnguard character is at lvl 54 while my vampire is at 20, so maybe that accounts for the huskies seeming a lot better than the death hounds

has anyone observed anything else about these guys?

 

[Colonel Volgin]

The Death Hounds seem very weak. They died from 2-3 hits from one of those random Dawnguard fellows sneaking around Volkihar Castle.

 

[Kalin of High Rock]

I don't care for the Deathhound model. It's ugly. I mean, I know it's supposed to look ugly. It's an unholy creature of the night, and all that. That's not what I mean. The model just seems less detailed, more clay-like than other models in the game. A rushed job, I'd say.

The huskies look good, but I've never taken one out for a spin. I hate losing companions.

 

[nolandman]

I don't care for the Deathhound model. It's ugly. I mean, I know it's supposed to look ugly. It's an unholy creature of the night, and all that. That's not what I mean. The model just seems less detailed, more clay-like than other models in the game. A rushed job, I'd say.

The huskies look good, but I've never taken one out for a spin. I hate losing companions.

I agree with rush-job model to a extent. They did freak me out the first time I came close enough to one alive, so to some degree I thought it successful. But upon further inspection I did think they could have done more of an exposed flesh kind of thing in terms of the palette and textures. Also in the loading screen the model for one appears with these sort of glazed-over, blind, white eyes that I personally liked better than the blazing red ones of the in-game counterparts'.

As far as choosing one over the other I would definitely go husky, but like you I have yet to try one out for the same reason.

 

[Slowbro]

Also in the loading screen the model for one appears with these sort of glazed-over, blind, white eyes that I personally liked better than the blazing red ones of the in-game counterparts'.

I've yet to see this load screen, but it already sounds better.

The more I think about it, the more disappointed I am about the death hounds. Even if they're not up to par in graphics, I just wish they weren't such wusses. I love having animal companions, but as of now I can only have Barbas and Shadowmere cause they're the only ones that can survive the battles I get into. Things like this make me wish I could have a pet bear or have Ohdaviing at my side constantly.

 

[Kalin of High Rock]

I've yet to see this load screen, but it already sounds better.

The more I think about it, the more disappointed I am about the death hounds. Even if they're not up to par in graphics, I just wish they weren't such wusses. I love having animal companions, but as of now I can only have Barbas and Shadowmere cause they're the only ones that can survive the battles I get into. Things like this make me wish I could have a pet bear or have Ohdaviing at my side constantly.

Durnehviir sticks around quite a bit longer than Ohdaviing. He attacks from both the land and the air and is, in fact, my best friend. I have this one funny time after I had just learned how to call him, he landed next to me and followed at my side as I traveled the fields outside of Whiterun. An Imperial Patrol with prisoner passed us and didn't seem too impressed.

Durnehviir's the best part of going to the terrible, terrible Soul Cairn.

 

[Slowbro]

Durnehviir sticks around quite a bit longer than Ohdaviing. He attacks from both the land and the air and is, in fact, my best friend. I have this one funny time after I had just learned how to call him, he landed next to me and followed at my side as I traveled the fields outside of Whiterun. An Imperial Patrol with prisoner passed us and didn't seem too impressed.

Durnehviir's the best part of going to the terrible, terrible Soul Cairn.

Oh no, I do prefer Durnehviir. He's much more pleasant and cool looking.
But being bound to the Soul Cairn wouldn't make him the best pet companion if dragons were a follower/mount option.

 

[Kalin of High Rock]

Maybe not, but his gratitude for the brief visits I give him definitely make him more polite than Ohdaviing. I also like that he will land and attack from the ground, where Ohdaviing will just attack from the sky. I like walking down the road with my good friend Durnehviir

 

[Slowbro]

Maybe not, but his gratitude for the brief visits I give him definitely make him more polite than Ohdaviing. I also like that he will land and attack from the ground, where Ohdaviing will just attack from the sky. I like walking down the road with my good friend Durnehviir

The one time I did call Ohdaviing, he wouldn't attack the dragon I call him to fight. I think it was because we were in a small village and maybe he was afraid of the humans attacking him? Either way, know he'll become hostile towards Shadowmere makes him useless to me.

 

[Kalin of High Rock]

He becomes hostile towards Shadowmere? That's odd. Though I have not used Shadowmere since I learned to summon Arvak. I think in the case where you want to attack another dragon mid-air, Ohdaviing may be the better choice.

Durnehviir's drain vitality thu'um, bone and mistmen summons are better suited to taking out enemies on the ground.

 

[tntlover538]

Hey does anyone know if the huskies attack you if you become a vampire and followed the dawnguard side

 

[Panda Rawrlord]

Huskies all the way! They're adorable! I wouldn't want to risk their lives by taking them along with me on adventures though.

 

[Neriad13]

I think the huskies are the most adorable thing in the game and thus, I can't stand risking their lives and taking them out for a spin. But I do have to admit that their barking is pretty annoying, especially when I'm trying to sneak.

 

[Bum]

The Death Hounds seem very weak. They died from 2-3 hits from one of those random Dawnguard fellows sneaking around Volkihar Castle.

I don't know if it's just for me but the Death Hounds seem to be stronger then the Huskies whenever I play. When I joined the Dawnguard and had Bran as my follower he seemed to die way more then when I used CuSith, and half the times CuSith died were only because he jumped in front of me while I was casting a spell.

 

[Daelon DuLac]

While I love the huskies, they just don't hold a candle to my herd of Death Hounds.