companions

[olliej666]

hi there just want to ask how is the best companion to have whilst being a nord?? i still have lydia but was wandering who is the best to have??

[LiamNeesonsWetSocks]

I think a better question would be "Which follower would best complement my build?". In other words, what type of character are you playing?

[olliej666]

im playing as a nord

[NudeSkyrim]

im playing as a nord

 

nord is a race, you can be drastically different characters as a nord. A mage who only uses spells, or a warrior with a 2H weapon would have different followers complement them.

 

If you're a theif though or use stealth a lot, Cicero is a good companion that won't blow your stealth as easily as some others.

[BlackCompany]

As a side note, if you mean "which follower has the best back story and side quests, and the most interesting dialogue," skip Skyrim entirely. Find some mods. Go back to Fallout New Vegas. You will find neither interesting nor immersive companions in Skyrim. They have no side quests, feature no unique dialogue and exist to block doorways, repeat annoying auto-greetings and get hit by friendly fire when you try and cast spells.

 

If you absolutely must have a companion in Skyrim get one of the dogs and then download the mod which makes the bark silent. That way, you won't deal with the annoying human companions.

[RedRavyn]

I gave up on followers a long time ago. The only follower I settled on when I was playing Oblivion was a self-designed wolf companion. I played with Vilja for awhile, and she was an astonishing creation with a backstory, quests, unique dialog (all voiced by Emma, her creator), and a complex AI (by CDCooley). I really hope they'll doing something like this for Skyrim and it will make followers viable in this game.

 

The downside to followers: Bethesda did an atrocious job programming them. They're stupid, they block doorways, they bump into you constantly, most of them will blow your cover at the drop of a hat (or less), they jump in the way of your attacks (and then get mad because you hit them). I've been killed by own followers on three different occasions -- once when Barbas shoved me off a cliff, and twice when I got caught in "friendly fire" (once by an archer follower and once by a mage follower). They're just generally annoying nuisances at best, and dangerous friends at worst.

 

If you must have a follower, then do a critical appraisal of your character's abilities and your playing style. Are you a toe-to-toe melee combatant? Then you probably want a follower with ranged combat skills, either a mage or an archer. Otherwise, you're going to wind up hitting your melee-oriented follower all the time. Are you an archer? You might want someone in heavy armor and carrying a big stick to whack your enemies while you stand back and pick them off with arrows. Are you the sneaky type? Then except for Cicero (who you can only get if you join the Dark Brotherhood and complete that questline) leave your followers at home.

 

There is no simple answer to your question. It all depends upon what you need to complement your character. That has nothing to do with your character's race and everything to do with what your character is capable of and how you play the game.

[olliej666]

Hi thanks for all the replies, im playing as a warrior and have lydia as my companion but find she is pretty much useless and could do just as good on my own :)

[ElricOfGrans]

@RedRavyn Man, Vilja was fantastic. I have also been hoping Emma makes a Skyrim companion.

 

@olliej666 For a Warrior, a mage ally (eg Aranea) would make a lot of sense. They can do magical damage to enemies who are heavily armoured, thereby covering your weakness. An archer companion (eg Aela) could also be a good idea, as they also provide ranged support (which helps with Dragons, for example).