*ok i just got my first companion (Rex) and so I'm pretty much a noob with him so bear with me*

I was just wandering, is there a way to heal your companions aside from wasting valuable stimpacks on them? I tried sleeping, that didn't do anything... and i tried taking Rex to the lake to drink water and... nothing. I even tried putting some food in his inventory.... he didn't eat it... Also, how to you remove a poison from a companion? Those stupid cazadors (most annoying enemy) keep poisoning him.... the poison just saps away his health until there is almost nothing left.

I really want to like having a companion... but I'm having a really hard time. It's annoying that you have to manually click on them to give them orders (what if they're not right next to you when you want to give them a command?). And the fact that if they die.... thats it. No revive?

I feel like companions should be invincible... or at very least their health should regen outside of battle or they should just become "unconscious" when taken down in battle (KOTOR much???)

Anyway some help dealing with companions would be helpful. Right now I'm just thinking about putting a bullet in his head and continuing the adventure solo.... but i'm hoping it won't come to that. Sry bout the messy post... I'm rly tired and finding it hard to concentrate rite now....

No not really. If you put stimpacks in their inventory they'll occasionally use one if they're low on health, but that's about it. They'll also use buffout and maybe food items but again, usually at low health. Letting them do it themselves is not efficient.
They should however fully heal after every battle automatically (if they're not poisoned), once they're not in combat-posture anymore. If they're not doing that, that would be a bug.

Used to be using a stimpack on them would stop the poison, at least that's what my memory recalls. Then there was a massive bug/glitch where when poisoned, if you used a stimpack on them it would actually kill them. They appear to have fixed that now, but stimpacks (in my game at least) no longer stop the poison, they just heal, so you just heal until the poison duration runs out.

They are in non-hardcoe mode. hardcoe is supposed to be more "realistic" and therefore, they die even while being your companion. So if you want them to be "invincible", don't play hardcoe. Should note that even in non-hardcoe, once they fall unconscious, they won't get up again until a fight is over - you can't revive them mid-battle. But, they don't die. (they can still die when not your actual companion, tho, like any other npc).

If you're on PC...mods. If you're on console, and they don't fit your playstyle, not much you can do but not use them.

Thanks for the reply! Yea it kinda slipped my mind that I was in hardcoe mode and that those things might be because of that. FYI tho stimpacks don't heal poison, i tried that.

So their health is supposed to regen outside of combat even in hardcoe mode? This is not happening for me, no matter where I go his health stays the same. Also, is sleeping supposed to heal? I swear when I slept earlier my health was restored, but then when i tried sleeping recently my health did not regen (cot inside fisherman's hut) Bug?

Yes, they heal themselves outside of hardcoe mode, just like in fallout 3 (they heal slowly by themselves-as long as your not in mid-combat, and they heal entirely when fast traveling/ walking in or out of a building)

If your companions fell easily you should check your charisma....

Yeah, high CHA helps them a fair bit.
Also, I don't consider Rex a very strong companion...if you upgrade him, depending on what you choose, he gets better. Same with EDE. Human companions are the ones that are OP'd, because you can equip them in high DT armor & give them big ranged guns. Or ballistic fists.

So if i get a human companion will they have infinite ammo or will I still need to give them ammo and repair their stuff too?

Human companions have "default" weapons that use infinite ammo and are indestructible.. But if you want to give them a better weapon, you have to place ammo in their inventory. They will use up the least powerful ammo first, so if you want them to use, say, AP rounds, they have to have only that type of ammo in inventory. Weapons & armor have to be better than their default gear or they won't equip it.

Equipment you give them generally doesn't wear down from regular use - but it can happen, from either "splash" damage (explosives) or a critical hit to their weapon itself (rare). They'll say something like "I need a new weapon", drop it, and switch to something else.

Be aware many think they're so OP'd that they don't like to use them because they'll "kill steal"...plus they're not good for close-up sneaky tactics.

Yea i like to be the sneaky sniper type player and pick things off from a distance. It's kinda hard when Rex decides he just wants to run in there and get himself killed... *facepalm*. But yea I haven't come across any other potential companions that I know of... (maybe that cowboy guy in freeside...?). Maybe the human companions will be better if they can snipe with me Thanks 4 all the help btw LadyCrimson!

The sneak issue is that they'll attack as soon as you get [CAUTION] to flash or when you hit something. But if you can snipe from far enough away, they won't attack even when you start firing (outside their detection range).

If you don't mind being spoiled on their locations & some other details, here's the wiki page listing all possible companions in NV:
http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Fallout:_New_Vegas_companions

If you just want location w/less spoilage:

Human companions often have the typical mess o' dialogue and/or quest where at the end they'll have some dialogue option to join you if you're able. Most have a 'specialty' in terms of stats & tagged skills (ranged vs. melee, energy vs. guns) but all can use anything if you really want them to.

Yea I think after I do Rex's quest i'm just gonna leave him in my apartment and go it alone. Companions just seem like too much grief tbh... but who knows maybe i'll find a better one. I mean I don't really NEED a companion, it just makes the game easier and I like a bit of a challenge. There's just something cool about exploring the desert knowing the only thing you have to rely on are your wits and your gun.

It's like playing Resident Evil in co-op, knowing you have someone by your side might make it a bit more fun in a way.... but you're never really on your toes b/c you know someone is there to save you if you get in a jam. I like the feeling of knowing that there won't be anyone there to save me.... makes it a bit more intense hehe.