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I've seen a bunch of threads relating to individual followers, threads talking about what you've done with your follower, etc;. Soooooo, I thought that we could use a general discussion thread about all things related to our beloved meatshields. Who's your favorite? What did you equip them with? How did they die? Who joined the Blades? Post it all here.

So far on my main character, I've traveled with, in this order;

Sven
Lydia
Erik the Slayer
J'zargo

So far, only Sven has died for me, in the final battle of the Civil War questline. It was a pretty good way for him to go, too, especially since it was in the middle of a gigantic battle. I decked him out in some easy to find heavy armor and gave him a battle axe. Nothing special, but he got the job. His corpse did ruin my wedding once though.

I picked up Lydia next. Ugh. Worst mistake ever. She could hold her own and wasn't that bad, but her attitude. Ew. I don't see how you guys can put up with her. She's easily the most annoying NPC in the game to me, especially when you ask her to carry stuff for you.

I had Erik with me for nearly the entire quest. This was a great guy to have around, because he always had a nack for making it out alive. With his sword, which was a nice elven blade, and Spellbreaker for a shield, he really helped out with dragons. At times, he would even pull out a staff and set some enemies ablaze.

Finally, I nabbed J'zargo. Best decision ever. Easily my favorite companion in the game. I currently have him in the ebony mail, and gave him Chillrend, even though he never uses it. He kills just about as many enemies as me, and he happens to be the only follower in the game that levels up with you. He holds his own very well, and his constant lightning bolts provide excellent backup when I'm in the fray, ripping people apart with my two swords.

I've been rolling with Cosnach for the last few weeks since I beat him in a brawl. I sent Lydia home so we could have some guy time on the road.
But last night, Cosnach noticed my Amulet of Mara and made a pass at me!
I'm thinking we should parts ways soon...

Lydia- Died under unknown circumstances. Or she just ditched me. Had her for the longest and we had the most fun.. oh well.
Faendel- Killed him while I was dual wielding axes and fighting bandits. He was kind of annoying, I just needed help to assault the EEC warehouse.
Marcurio- Killed him with Fire Storm scroll meant for Draugr Deathlord. We had a good run and did a lot, but you irritated me a lot too so I guess it's for the best.
Spectral Assassin- You annoy the crap out of me but you kick ass so we hang out sometimes.
Shadowmere- My beloved steed. If you ever die I will kill myself and delete all my saves.

I'm more of a lone wolf, but I didn't mind Lydia at all. Her comments entertained me and it's nice to have a little extra hmph! there when you need it, especially when dragons come along at early levels. I just started over and have left her in Dragonsreach, but she'll probably accompany me in the future again. Plus, not that I'm really looking for a ton, but I like the addition of companions and followers. They may not be up to par but I really enjoy the added flavor they bring to the game and the world. It's a gallant attempt to bring an already alive world even more so to life.

But my favorite "follower" is still the stray dog I picked up. Who doesn't love a lil' puppy at your heels?

Meeko is my favourite. But... He died. I was getting my ass kicked by an Elder Dragon and a bunch of Draugr and then... He jumped and killed teh dragon before being FUSed off a cliff by the Draugr!

Meeko, well meeko was allright, but he died pretty fast.
Lydia, I hate her attitude to, so she stays at my house doing nothing.
Kharjo,Best choice ever! i love this dude(no homo) but he died .
So now i'm all alone...

I miss Vigilance. He died on our way up the 7000 steps, to a Dragon. I took him from where he died and laid him on the highest rock I could find. I miss that dog.

I had Lydia for a while and then switched to Mjoll after Lydia started to falter and and getting in the way of my Fus. . . now she just sits at home eating sweetrolls or whatever. Mjoll has an Ebony battle axe, a staff of lightning and orcish bow of storms and wears ebony mail, boots and gauntlets. Sometimes her constant talking annoys me a little, but she has a quite large bit of dialogue and is damn near unbeatable. She can't sneak worth a crap, even with boots that I enchanted with muffle.

Lydia is my wife and the only follower I've ever used. She has enchanted dragonbone armor and an enchanted ebony war axe and bow. The problem is that I keep forgetting to unload those five dragon bones from her so she's not worth much as a pack mule. More accurately, I am my own pack mule.

I don't trust my followers to carry my stuff, in case they fall of a cliff and I can't find them.

I don't like any of the housecarls. They are surly and resentful, except maybe Jordis, she's ok. I think the best kept secret as far as followers go is Vorstag, found in The Sliver Blood Inn. He never complains, is willing to carry your things without any smart-ass remarks or overtones. When you say. "Wait here', he waits exactly where you put him and you don't find him back at the house. He's a good and loyal fighter and takes his duties seriously. He makes interesting remarks about the places you visit.
The only times he gets cranky are when he can't keep up with you or you don't let him be the big hero. I totally love Vorstag and even thought about marrying him. Haven't as yet thou because I don't exactly know how it would effect his follower status. Would not like it if he was saying, "Is there anything you need, dear?" during the height of a battle.

I need to try getting Vorstag. I've heard good things.
What kind of weapon is he good with?

Had Lydia for a bit. She does seem resenful, but more important, she can't keep herself out of my line of fire, even hand to hand. Tried Mercurio (sp?) - he did not last through our first battle, as he stepped right in front of an arrow from my bow.. splat!

Aela, now... married her. She works at range by preference, sneaks well, doesn't step across my line of fire, doesn't push ahead into trouble (usually). But, even without finishing her questlines, she definitely can die.

Looks like I need to expand my horizons and see if followers like Jzargo or Volstag are worth adventuring with. For a while, after my mixed experience with Lydia with my first character (she got in the way a lot and then died), I limited my followers to loot carriers and usually had them wait outside a cave or dungeon before I went in to them. Now, during play with my 2nd character, I have followers in Whiterun, Riverwood, Solitude and Riften, and I usually have one of them tagging along with me. Although I go through stretches on my own, I find myself missing the companionship of having someone tagging along. I've been switching them up but always come back to Mjoll. Mjoll's attitude, voice and dialogue are the best of the followers I have experienced.

Jordis is my second favorite. She looks good in Ancient Nord armor and her rather sparse dialogue is fairly pleasant compared to that of Iona and Lydia. Faendal has been ok during the minimal times when I've had him as a follower---though I dismissed him quickly after the time he went into battle mode wearing only gauntlets and boots.....

Meeko lasted one fight and I have to admit I was not disappointed. Hard to sneak around and do stealth attacks with a barking dog. Shadowmere is my favorite. Nothing like not having Shadowmere available to you to gain a full appreciation for the value in having a horse that is reliable. Not joining guilds with my 2nd character so I am stuck with random horses, and horses I purchase. I have to baby these horses, usually parking them in a safe area before going into a fight for fear of them getting them killed.

I don't really like followers. I just killed and ate Lydia, arranged her corpse in my house, and then claimed her inheritance! That's how my character deals with people who pester him.

Faendal - Used him for a short time, helped me kill some bears, nothing really eventful.

Uthgerd - I had completed her brawl requirement towards the start of the game but never took her as a follower. I didn't really like Faendal as a follower, and felt my Khajiit assassin needed a bodyguard. I sat down with Faendal by the fire in the Bannered Mare and dismissed him amicably. I then took Uthgerd as my follower. I have a bad habit of leaving my followers waiting outside of caves since I prefer to sneak around. I left her outside some keep or something I was exploring and she disappeared by the time I was done. I never saw her again, not even inside the Bannered Mare. For awhile it said I still had a follower, but eventually that cleared up.

Lydia - Annoying, left her outside some cave as well, never went back to get her.

Kharjo - My only good follower so far. He's been great even before I outfitted him with Legendary equipment. We've slain a Frost Dragon together and claimed the Vokun mask. My goal with him is to collect all of the Priest masks and induct him into the Blades. I'm not sure if I want to let him die in battle with honor or sacrifice him to Boethiah eventually. Either way I'd consider it a hero's death for my faithful Khajiit brother.

LAter, I'll probably pick up J'zargo once I'm high level, and maybe Erik the Slayer as my third Blades member.

@ Unionhack - Vorstag is good with a bow and also for close-in work. Like all followers he will get in the way of hurling fireballs but if I can, I block the doorway so he can't get through until I want him to. He takes things very literally - I mean he won't move an inch if you say "Wait here'. I remember saying that to that dolt, Lydia, only to find her in the bar or back at the house. Also, when it comes to parting ways, he just goes - no resentments. I swear he's just solid and good in all ways, the kind of person you'd like to have at your back in RL.

Interesting.

Anyone know what follower would be a good one for an pirate-y kind of character?

A dog to sniff out treasure for you.

Dogs die too quickly, but I might pick one up regardless.

But I mean a bipedal companion.

I would say a warrior follower. Mages don't seem like the piratey type.
Janessa in the Drunken Huntsman in Whiterun would be a good choice, she seems like she could be a pirate. Uses bows and melee, too.

Seems fitting since my character is a descendant of Captain Tussaud, and his first mate was a dark elf. We'll see, but Jenassa seems like an excellent choice at the moment.

Jenassa is great. Very handy with a bow.

Lydia is great two if you arm her with a couple of mage staves. It's just a bit creepy coming home to find her sitting in my bedroom waiting for me, especially when I want to have a bit of alone time with wifey.

I tried J'Zargo last night and he died a couple of minutes out of Winterhold against a couple of ice wraiths. Okay my "dragon breath" might have finished him off but he really shouldn't have been so weakened against a couple of icy opponents, considering he is a master of the fireball.

I'm going to try Kharjo next, except he's a right bugger to track down when you need him.

To get to Kharjo, I'd reccomend going to Dawnstar and waiting out there for a while.
Keep his quest un-turned in so you have a map marker on him until you're ready to pick him up as a follower.

I just started using a follower for the first time, Riften's Iona. I've equipped her with a Bow that does 1 more HP damage than her melee weapon, so she'll be be inclined to use the Bow first at a distance before charging into the fray.

She seems to be pretty useful so far, and at least she isn't a chatterbox like some of the other followers have been reported to be. It's just that her eyes are kinda creepy. Too much dark eyeliner for her pale eye colour. Makes her look like a white-eyed goth.