Hey, I just started a new character in Skyrim as an archer and wanted to see what the veterans of the Elder Scrolls series has to say. I am going to be an Archer (with a sword for cqc), what / who would be my best option for a follower?

Thanks for any input

Depends.. If you want a fellow archer than Derkeethus. He prefer to be near you when in combat but keeps his distance otherwise and he always uses his bow over his melee weapons, unless he has magical stuff to use. He is good with 1-Hand weaponry and will duel-wield stuff when he gets in the mood to..

Now, if you want a meleer tank than someone from the Companions will easily do. I don't know many melee tanks.

Aela from the companions is a great choice for a variety of reasons. For one she's an archery trainer so you can let her train you up then take all your gold back. Same deal with Faendal. Janessa is another good choice, especially if you role play a thief or assassin.

I am a pure archer and have only ever had Janessa as a follower, she has rarely let me down.......I give her a decent bow and a one or two handed weapon and she intuitively uses whatever is appropriate for the situation. She is sometimes a little slow when we are traveling and I often have to wait for her to catch up but generally we have a good relationship that works well. At level 44 and 163 hours in I can recommend Janessa.

Cicero or a DB initiate. These guys are great at stealth, archery and one handed. The biggest plus for me is that Cicero doesn't get stuck using a hunting bow like Aela, he'll use the good stuff you give him and his archery skill is practically the same as hers. Until I am able to get him, I use Jenessa as she's the only follower who will dual wield anything other than forsworn weapons. Having said that, 90% of the time I don't use followers at all - they get lost, get stuck in doorways, trigger traps you carefully avoided and don't really have any personalities or much dialogue to make them interesting. Apart from Cicero. he's hilarious, and he capers.

My level 20 Bosmer archer is using Faendal atm. Two archers in tandem works really well I've found.

I'm a Stealth Archer and Aela suits me just fine - she has high sneak, high archery - (and she looks cool in the Darki Bro armour).
Lydia was ok til about level 30 (irritated me everytime she said I'm here to carry your burden though) - but as I upped my Sneak her gallumping everywhere kinda made it a waste of time.

Aela uses the Glass Bow (with Soul Trap enchant) I gave her - and collects souls for me too. But yeah, she treads on traps, has limited conversation. But what confuses me in your post is the weapon limitations you mention - gonna look it up.

If you are on a PC, consider downloading "http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=4554," which allows you to finetune your follower's stats. That way you can choose someone based on appearance, gender or race and then adjust them to your playstyle. For example, I use Iona and have removed her default armor and weapons which means she only uses or wears what I give her, so for example if I want her to use only the bow, I simply take away her sword in the standard trading dialogue. I've also given her the lightfoot perk so she doesn't trigger traps. And I've changed her hair to dreads and given her some sweet warpaint.

If you're on a PC, http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=11450 aims to fix some of the problems mentioned here: she'll use whatever bow you give her, she won't trigger traps, you can ask her to move out of doorways, and I'm working on giving her more personality.

The main drawback for the OP to using Aela as a follower is just that she doesn't become available as a follower until after you've completed the Companions questline, whereas folks like Faendal and Jenassa are available very early in the game.

My stealth archer doesn't really need one, they tend to get in the way. I haven't played him since before 1.5 tho, so I dont really know what could happen now.

I use Jenassa. You can use the console to fix her bug with using the default bow. I give her the fiery soul trap effect on her bow and one of her swords. She is a soul gem making machine. She also has sneak.

If you have the creation kit, you can look at the stats of all of them.

As others have said I find Aela the best as an archer companion.

Yup, that is exactly what I do! I have rolled with Stenvar using 2-handed for a long time, but I wanted to have like an Legion lieutenant with me. I changed him to prefer 1 handed, changed his armor preference, and adjusted a couple things. Now he is in Legion mail armor, and used a sword and board as well. Perfection!

Stenvar is a great 2-hander tank by default though.

This is also how I got Sylgja & my other female housecarls to wear something decent.

Aela all the way for me. Though I have not tried janessa.

I gave Aela Forsworn Armor of the Old Gods for a while.... There's a good outfit! Eventually she was in full Dragonscale - we were twins. I give here good gear, and I believe she uses it.

I think Archers need other archers as followers - at least if you want to sneak. The 3x damage is a killer - no pun intended.

Faendal or Jenassa or Aela , as archer type characters, may be good as they do not just run in front of you - between you and your prey. I guess you may have a problem with sticking rather nasty bits of stick into your friend's backs, so consider whether the character will run in front of you when you start a fire fight.

Also, their aim is rather good, so you can switch to melee and they seem not to shoot you too often.

I am a Nord, level 29 but strongest in archery. I used Lydia, but unfortunately shot her with an arrow (!) and I didn't want to replay a difficult battle (The Staff of Magnus). So I became a Thane of Riften and am now using Housecarl Iona. I equipped her with good weapons and armor, and believe me, she is VERY good! Where Lydia was waiting to fight, Iona runs ahead and seek battles so I have to run after her in order to get a little fight for myself! What a change!

Lydia is a good warrior/archer.
I suggest keeping her until you're level 30.
Then go to Aela the Huntress for more Archer damage.
OR
Mjoll the Lioness for more warrior damage.

I found that Lydia was terrible when playing Master difficultly, due to her limited health. I mostly reloaded because she would get killed so often.

If you are on PC, use the creation kit to look at their stats.

Jenassa has sneak and dual wield.

Aela, she can even train you and you can get the money back from her inventory!

Summons and Illusion spells offer great distractions for a stealthy archer. Try picking up Sanguine's rose. I use it all the time.