So I'm in the middle of a playthrough of FF12, and the gambit system in that game got me thinking... An easy way to make companions actually useful in skyrim could be to implement a tactics system similar to this. you can choose a target (on self, self health <50% ally, ally health <50%, closest enemy, enemy mage, ect.) and an action (heal, attack, use ranged weapon, flee, ect.) and let the player decide what's best for him. now companions will obviously have their own strengths and weaknesses, and choosing the right companion, as well as being able to customize them to their maximum usefulness would be very, very nice. now idk if its something that would be easily supported in skyrim or not, but imo a good idea none the less =] do you agree?

If Bethesda needs to organize some sort of interface for companion tactics, I'll agree, FF12's gambit system is a good model to go on (from what I can remember on it anyway).

If there will be companions, I'm definitely holding out for this. I think it's critical that companion behavior be adaptable to each player's playing style (within the companion's simulated personal limits maybe), and it needs to be streamlined and fully integrated, unlike the dialog method from Oblivion.