At first I didn't use compaions as I liked my character being a lone archer in the wilderness but when I came across Meekura the Argonian (could be completely wrong but something along those lines) I figured I give it a try. Then I came to the realisation that I could give them armor to wear and weapons to use, and boy did it make the game a hell of a lot more fun (easier without a doubt, but fun). With me decked in full elven gear with elven weapons (bow and dual daggers) wearing a dragon priest mask and him wearing the nightingale armor (modded in the picture so it doesn't look the same) with ebony weapons (bow and dual daggers too) wearing a priest mask too it was like we were the night and day assassins (still trying to think of a good name but this will suffice for now). It got me thinking whether other people used companions for RP'ing purposes or for the sake of some help. Below is a picture of the duo if anyone is interested (with a sort of uuuh.....hi pose lol) .

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/630733235587319460/FF81D0E73B88C0CCEA7379F7F5848DF15A70E601/

I didn't with my first character, but as they were a fire mage it didn't make sense - AoE spells and companions don't mix well.

My second character is a fighter and I've teamed up with Mjoll, it's been a lot of fun.