I want a Bear i do, a Bear, A BEAR.

I think i've had about as much Fable in Skyrim as I can take already....

...but I suppose if (big if) time allows it, house pets wouldn't hurt.

yes a mudcrab

I do not like having companions, because I always have to worry about them or else they die. I like going on my adventures alone, and then coming home for a rest, and find my wife and children in a warm and safe place, and if you add my pet dog there, too, awesome

if you can have a pet, i hope you can let it roam your house....or backyard...i hope you get backyards?? jk but i hope it can roam your house and eat n stuff instead of being a statue like oblivion

I'd put animal companions in the same category as marriage in Skyrim

It's something that I don't want to be bothered with in my first few playthroughs, but later on it might be interesting to role play a specific character - in this instance a Bosmer Druid-type who communes with nature and makes a living from crafting whilst never touching the main quest.

In fact, I think it might make an interesting DLC

We can apparently get a dragonshout to summon a dragon. Would be so funny, calling it, it flies down blasting fire and looking for enemies and your characters there just holding a piece of raw salmon... "need this cooked".

That was an awesome spell in BG II: SoA. I am fully in favour of this, especially if a cost is incurred on your character if your Familiar kicks the proverbial bucket.

As long as it's not fable-ey then i suppose, but i doubt I'd use them till I'm bored of everything else.

Yes I would.

I would like a wolf or husky, that would accompany me if I wanted them, but also have the ability to leave them at home if I wanted to go solo.

Also good companion AI is essential, it's no good having an ally with you if your sneaking into a fort if the first enemy they see they charge down and blow your cover. There needs to be a system where you can give companions/pets specific instructions.

a frost atronach would be nice, or skeleton.... or a BIGGER skeleton or frost atronach

This. Slowly diminishing the self respect of dragons everywhere. An attack on enemy morale as it were.

To the topic...

I am divided. Yes, companions can be cumbersome and die easily, and they often foul up plans of attack by behaving very simple-mindedly (ie, see enemy, attack enemy, completely ruin ambush). The dynamic single-player nature of TES games makes it hard to install a smooth system of companion control. Fallout produced a fairly coherent system using the behaviour wheel, yet this still leaves a lot to be desired. Games like Ghost Recon and Mass Effect have also produced different methods of companion control, each with varying pros and cons. Bethesda faces an interesting task in developing this mechanic.

However, it could potentially be extremely cool. A companion pet who travels with you through your adventures is a classic idea in role-playing/fantasy tales, and would be a complete delight for the story-goers. Developing a relationship with this pet, commands of attack, enriching the lore surrounding your character, all would be great for an epic tale of role play. If at the very least they are available to have in your home, this would be sufficient.

Final decision: I suppose it would be better if this feature was included, falling back yet again on the fact that making a feature optional essentially supports both those who would and those wouldn't use it. Leave it to the discretion of the player to decide for themselves what they want. This is pretty much what Bethesda are so damn good at.

only if it poops in my front lawn.

can i get a pet yoshi?

I agree w/ Feronasu. its not if we have pets or not, it's how they're controlled, and if you could just choose not to have any. Someone could even focus a character around having two powerful pets. If not, you could always summon creatures.

I would love a pet as a companion and tend to get bored when I don't have one. In just about every game I play, I end up creating a "lone ranger" who usually avoids towns and wanders around the wilderness with her loyal wolf/horse/pack donkey.