they svck. they svck so hard that they could do commercials for the Cleveland Browns. going from Fallout NV companions to Skyrim companions is like having a steak and then eating vegetables. is painful and just downright sadistic. even if you say that fallout NV was Obsidian that still doesnt explain why Skyrims followers are far worse than even Fallout 3 followers. the only improvement was the E command. the only time i really use that is to make sure that my follower doesnt step on some trap for the upteenth time and trying to get my stealth follower to pick locks but since you can beat the lockpick game even with low levels that doesnt matter.

they use bows even when they are in melee range and being attacked by multiple opponents. they run in ahead of me even when im sneaking, this didnt happen in fallout 3 nearly as much even before the mods that modified their AI. they get lost all the time if you are sprinting some place and there doesnt appear to be any "catch up" mechanism unless i fast travel somewhere. why cant npcs sprint?

My follower kicks ass.

I'd like to be able to tell him not to attack until I do, but he mostly does that anyway.

Usually, when I start sniping off svckers he hangs back and does the same. (leaving me almost all the kills) He won't usually pull out a sword unless they start rushing me, and by that time I've usually done the same. Once he goes toe to toe, he's a tank. Plus he's good for some occasional color commentary.

Stenvar bro.