in my opinion, companions should be a good part of the game. companions should not be limited by number, as in game a player who does not want many companions could simply not recruit them,and there is no reason to dumb them down.

companions where no good in oblivion and fallout. in oblivion they had no personality,they didnt have any intellegence which often led to their demise very quickly. in fallout 3 they were still limited by their stupidity yet some where grossly overpowered (Fawkes was nearly invincible and didnt leave me with anything to kill)
i was thinking that since the ai in this game will be better (if it isnt, we will riot) then companions wouldent have a negative impact. and looking at how recent rpgs have made their games better by introducing likeable companions, why cant bethesda make likeable companions?

Out of all the options you listed, I find having a fat bard playing music to be the most interesting. It's different and music & art are hardly represented in the TES series.