Found this old http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1339015-a-dovahkiins-best-friend-barbas/?hl=%20barbas, and by the sound of it, I might be better off NOT using console to resume the "Daedra's Best Friend" quest.

I met up with him outside Falkreath and at first didn't know what would happen. He just sat there (I was going the wrong way it seems). Eventually I realized he wanted to go east and I followed him to that bandit bridge thing.

At that point me and Faendal (and I believe Lydia was still alive at that point) got separated from Barbas. Last I saw him was in the vicinity of that "Pine Something Farm" past the bridge . . . there was too much game to kill and ingredients to pick, etc., and he just kept going I guess.

I eventually realized I could tell where this Haemar's Shame location was, and made my way there. Interesting aside: as a result of Immersive Patrols, there was an absolute massacre of Imperial and Stormcloak soldiers underway as I got there. Lots of booty!

Outside the cave entrace: no Barbas. Inside the cave, no barbas and no obvious way to continue without him using teleport or something. Clairvoyance "No obvious path."

So, I don't really want "spoilers" about the whole quest, but what do you guys suggest I do? Should I use the console to teleport him back to the cave entrance? Is the patched version of the quest as bad as all the posters in that linked thread above suggest? I've subsequently gone off on other quests and leveled up 5 or 6 levels. Should I just ignore that quest?