Is there any way to make followers more aggressive and less defensive?

[Kahenraz]

I am trying to do a follower run, but I'm always getting caught up on their lackluster combat AI. While they are capable of running, when they draw their weapons they will sometimes *walk* into combat. And what's worse, they refuse to cross a puddle during combat to engage an enemy. Is there any way to encourage followers to be more aggressive? I'm not worried about them being smart about it. I just want them to get into combat and start soaking up damage as quickly as possible so that I don't have to.

The fact they they refuse to cross bodies of water while in combat is particularly frustrating to me.

 

[7531Leonidas]

There is Nether's Follower Framework ( https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/55653 ), that has follower tweaks that can change the aggressiveness and even combat style of NPCs.  Make sure you get the SPID based NFF Ignore Token ( https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/82945 ), so that NPCs with their own AI won't be broken by NFF.  There is also Don't Stay in the Water ( https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/52164 ) that MAY help w/the water crossing.  I hope that these help you, good luck!

[Tranquillus]

Yes, I find this a persistent frustration whenever I get it into my head to try to do a support character run with a tank follower.

There are a number of mods that add an interesting suite of support skills that on paper looks like they give you lots of variety and options to buff and support your follower(s) in battle. Unfortunately it's all moot because at its core follower AI is barely functional. Them getting stuck in a fight is a regular occurrence. Not like they get snagged on a glitchy rock, but like the enemy is on a ledge and they will just keep running into the wall not realizing they can use the stairs by the side. That or they get stuck in a defense loop where they just never stop blocking, letting the enemy whittle them down despite my best efforts to keep them alive, or completely ignoring a couple of archers to the back of them while they face a tank enemy so they just keep taking arrows to the back for no reason. I should note that this is with NFF too, with every setting that could conceivably make them more aggressive.

This is a thing with enemy AI as well. But I think for normal gameplay it's easy to not notice because players are aggressive and the time-to-kill is generally so low they don't have time to get seen being stupid.