SSE Need help with caravan/escort AI

[Pyreite]

Hello, I would like some help/advise regarding the creation of AI caravans in skyrim se. I've already reverse engineered the AI Packages of WE Imperial Prisoner Escort and WE Imperial Noble Escort as well as the Khajiit Caravans. I have several prototype AI Package sets made with varying degrees of success, and while some don't work very well I am wondering if there is just a better method that is more reliable or less impactful on performance. These are the prototypes I have so far, all for a caravan of 5 NPCs;

 

1. A bunch of individual decentralized AI Packages consisting of one Travel package for NPC A and Follow packages for B to follow A, C to follow B, D to follow C, and E to follow D.
   E follows D who follows C who follows B who follows A who travels on horseback.
2. A reverse engineered WE Imperial Prisoner Escort AI Package where originally it was the event where 3 Imperial soldiers escorted a Stormcloak prisoner to Solitude prison. The package was at first modified to include 1 more prisoner which worked fine-ish. When I tried to get A to ride a horse it wouldn't work anymore, so I modified it again to make A an escortee meaning 2 guards and 3 followers, and that didn't really work either. The horse just seemed to break it all.
3. A reverse engineered WE Imperial Noble Escort AI Package where originally it was the event where an imperial soldier escorts a noble on horseback to... somewhere. An Inn? The package was modified to have 3 followers now and be applied to 2 guards, but sometimes the caravan would just line up on the road and the lead would just stare at the mounted escortee not going anywhere. I took the package off guard C and gave him a simple Follow package to A, but still the issue persisted and sometimes D and E might get left behind.

 

None of these have proven 100% reliable, with sometimes individuals getting left behind, but I again wanted to ask what others thought might be good and I certain have no idea what might be bad performance wise. I think 1 works the best but creates the most forms and for all I know it's terrible for performance. What wisdom can be imparted upon me?

 

Please and thank you.

[JobVanDam]

It's very easy to make 1 NPC follow another.

On your FollowerNPC give him the LeaderNPC refID as a LinkedRef, no keyword.

Then on your FollowerNPC give him as his default package the DefaultMasterPackage formlist.
Done.

That DefaultMasterPackage is used throughout the game so developers didnt have a to make a package everytime they wanted an NPC to patrol or, or use furniture etc. In terms of performance I dont know what is most optimal but I do know the Default formlist is used by 99% of NPCs in dungeons, its very flexible.

 

As for NPCs getting left behind or moving ahead and standing where the Leader will eventually get to, theres nothing you can do about that they just do that sometimes.