If I equipped my follower in heavy armour when he/she is proficient in light armour, is that a disadvantage at all or is it still providing heavy armour protection?

Should I really only equip them in what they are good with?

Their armor rating increases the higher their skill in that type of armor is, so generally you should stick to what they're proficient in to get the highest protection for them.

Sometimes the game doesn't give them the equipment they use best. Vorstag's default armor is scaled armor (light), but he's actually a heavy armor specialist. I'm glad I checked the wikia on him, or I'd never have known.

Yeah, it pays to check first. There are several followers whose default armor and/or weapons don't match their proficiencies.

If you play a stealth character and your follower has heavy armor best to enchant something of theirs with muffle or forget surprising anyone...

Your follower will get heavy armor protection from heavy armor if you equip them with it, regardless of what their skills are. However, they won't be able to take full advantage of it like a heavy armor specialist would. And they would be missing out on the advantages their light armor specialty gives them. So the answer to your second question is "yes". In the vast majority of circumstances, you should equip your followers with the type of gear they're good at using.

Different followers have different uses. Lydia is a heavy armor specialist who makes a great tank, but she's lousy at sneaking. Marcurio has devastating offensive spells and moderate sneaking ability, but he svcks at hand-to-hand combat. Cicero is super sneaky and good with a dagger or bow, but he's lightly armored. Depending on your play style, any of these followers might be good for you or bad for you. For example, there's no use picking Cicero if you're clanking around in heavy armor, as his greatest strength (sneaking) will never come into play. Conversely, Lydia is a poor follower if you want to be sneaky, because she's loud and aggressive and will constantly blow your cover.

Decide what your play style is. Pick a follower whose skills compliment it, and equip them appropriately. Here is the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Followers. It shows you what their primary skills are, so you know what they're good at and how to equip them.

Excellent advice! Also keep in mind that if you're, say, a Destruction mage, picking an aggressive melee follower (like a housecarl) will mean you'll have to be extra careful with your spells, or you'll end up hitting your follower with spells' AoE all the time. Same if you're the melee character and you take along a follower skilled in Destruction, only it'll be you in the line of fire!

ive found the new special ability from DB quite useful and have actually started using followers since attaining it


its pretty much a must have for destruction mages and pure dragonborn

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that, but haven't got DB yet.