I personally vote for quality over quantity. I would rather have just 12 companions choices if it meant they all have their own quest line and interesting personality.

Please do not do the Skyrim approach of chucking a lot of potential followers in the game only for all of them to be lifeless and boring.

12 is still a lot, I'm not sure there were even that many is New Vegas but I might be wrong. I suspect the number will be somewhere around 10. As long as I can customize and pimp out Codsworth I'm satisfied.

Similar to how New Vegas did it, with rich personalities with loyalty more tied to reputations rather than Karma, and the ability to have any two at the same time (Right now I think traveling with both Codsworth and Dogmeat would be nice).

Of course, it's quality over quantity! Loved how it was done in FO:NV...

Hope Bethesda can follow suit, and discard the "Hey I just met you, this is crazy, but here's my necklace, so marry me maybe?" and "I chopped wood for you, and now you must follow me everywhere and carry my stuff" system.

Oh, and I hope one or more of those companions have unique actions, like for example going kamikaze to protect you (because he/she is that suicidal and fatalistic), picking random items for you, or even stealing a thing or two from your inventory for fun...

Whilst true at least considering just base game NV was in development time for half the length of FO4 so things will probably be a little larger on most fronts

This is my checklist of what I look for in Companions

-Do you follow me at a reasonable pace and distance?

-Are you intelligent enough not to run in front of my gun?

-Does the cut of your jib compliment the character I'm playing?

...That's it, really. I'm easily pleased.

No way we're getting 12. Max followers is gonna be somewhere around 8, I'm guessing.

Hint: I just pulled numbers out of my [censored] for the purpose of the poll to get across what I was asking

Though like I mentioned to a previous forumer NV had 7-8 base game and that was in development for about half the length of time as FO4 so I would personally expect a few more which is why I said 12.

Though frankly as long as I get a cute female redhead I will be happy

Voted "something else", because I don't use companions so I don't care

I definitely want a fully fleshed out companion. The companion quests in New Vegas were good, and I really wish we could have had them in 3. Fawkes was a huge missed opportunity.

He-Who-Remains, that reminds me of the opposite issue, from Fallout 1 where you were frequently gunned down by a companion blazing away with his weapon on full auto, .

Edit: that was because he targeted a foe further away from him on the other side of your character.

Well if Bethesda is pulling in to F4 elements from the best mods of F3 and FONV, there are some world class companion mods.

JIP Companions Command and Control by jazzisparis was heaven.

Companions like Willow and Russell with extensive background stories, quests, and extensive comments and conversation.

Since we are right next to the Institute, I'm figuring small radio comm units would be fairly common.

Be nice to be able to call a companion to return to you if else where or just lost.

I typically believe more is better in video games but 10ish followers fully fleshed out would be more then enough for a long while.

I voted something else.

I'd like a few fully fleshed out companions with backstories, along with the possibility of hiring random mercs/followers

I voted for "a few" but I think the only companion I ever actually used was really an overly elaborate, well-done, voiced mod.

On my first run-through of the game I usually play alone. On subsequent run-throughs I will try out the companions and sometimes keep them if they are not too stupid in combat. Otherwise they get parked in some hotel.

Usually they get parked because the AI is not so good. One time I set up a killzone with a bunch of mines and all we had to do was wait for one of the bad guys to open the door but my companion runs into the mines as soon as the door opens and everything falls apart after that. I had to stuff them in a closet to execute my plan.

Something else.

Initially 6 fleshed out NPC companions with their own identity, backstory, personality and assorted quests. Hopefully commenting on other quests, locations and - if we're really lucky - having independent dialogue amongst themselves.

Future DLC/expansion could extend this number.

Dogmeat should not count against those 6.

Also hoping for something similar to Ed-E. Updates/growth over the course of the game.

I've never really been interested in the company of companions, I like earning my own Xp, the feeling of solitude, the lone wanderer type. In New Vegas I did collect the companions & just left them at the Lucky38. When I returned to the lucky38 to drop off some gear, I was surprised to see that they were eating the food I left scattered about on the dining room table that I had placed to make it look more homely. I shouted... "I was saving that bacon!" Will Smith would have understood my shock horror. I may make use of the dog though, gonna build him a kennel.

Neither should Codworth.

I'd definitely take six really will developed companions over 12 like Fallout 3.

All they have to do is look at the New Vegas companions and you have your near perfect formula for how to do it. You don't even have to change much, just do that.

The Skyrim companions were better than Fallout 3 but not as good as the FONV companions.

Except Serana, she was at least as good as the FONV companions.

The Fallout New Vegas companions were excellent, but there are a lot of mod companions that are even better.

Hopefully they will pull from them too and step up their game.

For Fallout 5, I want them to let us bring two human companions on missions and hire someone away from Bioware so they can get that wonderful Bioware banter with you and each other.

If the F4 companions have good banters and story lines (and stay out of my line of fire), I will be on cloud nine.

I would rather have a drop in multiplayer function so we can have a smart companion for once.

No. If you are going to go off from 'how to make a companion' then look at the popular modded ones. Inigo, Niner, Russel. Pull from something that is actually done well.

If they really want to learn how to do a companion right, they need to look at Julan from Morrowind. Long story tied up in but independent from the main quest, slow-paced and natural romance that is completely optional, character and stat development over the course of the game, lots of comments on quests and locations plus lots of miscellaneous conversations that give opportunity to not only flesh out his character but yours as well, and he actually reacts to the player's actions--quite strongly, in fact, and can even have shouting matches with the player or run off and get incredibly drunk.

On which note, a voiced player character is going to svck for modded companions (not that I've ever used them in FO3 or FNV, but I have in all three modern TES games).

Other than the volume of characters in the 12 vote, which may be a little much, the followers in FNV were easily one of the many great parts of that game and their backgrounds were fantastic to explore (especially story time with Raul or the Enclave subplot with Arcade, and I don't even like the Enclave). I'm not sure how much their power should be modified, Boone and ED-E were absurdly powerful in the wastes, especially together. I can't count the number of times I am walking somewhere and I hear ED-E's battle music start, Boone shoots something, and then ED-E settles down again and I have no idea what just died (if I don't get the kill cam).