hi ... I have a question about ramping up your followers.

I made Scaled armor for Lydia and gave it to her but it doesn't look like she equipped it. So I trade with her and check her items ... and it doesn't really list any armor at all ... except for what i just gave her and that wasn't equipped. So she visually looks like she is wearing some type of armor but it is not listed in her items.

Is this normal ? I thought you could give better weapons and armor to your followers and they will equip it. This worked with Faendel and with rough girl from Bannered Mare.

For some reason, does this not work with Lydia?

thanks !

i believe they will only wear weapons/armor you give them if it has better base-stats then their default, and even then only when following you.. when you dismiss them they will revert to their defaults

She wear Steel armour as her default thingy and it cant be removed by trading with her.
An easy way to remove it is by pickpocketing it off her.
Give her better armour then tell her to [censored] off.
paralyze her and try to pickpocket her.
when her inventory eventually appears you can take her stuff without failing. (leave her boots on)
ask her to follow again.

when you remove the armour you gave her she will be wearing nothing but boots.
You can now give her any apparel.

One of Lydia's primary skills is heavy armor - at level 50 (her highest) she has 100 points in HA vs only 20 in LA.

Scaled is light - give her something like Dwarven or Orcish and she'll put it on.

Both Faendal and Jenassa have light armor as one of their primary skills.

I gave her Ebony armor, and not only did she wear it, but it made her look pretty darn sixy!

Don't you have to have a pickpocket of 100 and the right perk to be able to steal equipped items? Because most people don't have characters able to do that. I know I never could steal Lydia's armour off of her, and I really tried.

Thanks everyone , I hadn't thought that she equipped heavy armor.

So what happens to all the upgraded armor and weapons when you have them unfollow then follow again? I noticed I had Uthgerd unfollow then follow and now all the upgraded armor is gon from our adventures.
It does , however , look like she kept the weapons ,...

Friom what I remember, it stays in their inventory (unless you take it from them of course) until you tell them to follow you again then they re-equip it. I may be wrong, and probably am, but I think I remember Lydia equipping the stuff I gave her when she patrolled my manor outside of Falkreath after I made her my steward as well. She wouldn't wear it in the house though, no matter how hard I tried.

I play on 360, but surely if you play on PC there is a way to change her clothes without having to go through all this trouble.

She swishes round in Ebony Sir, in my little abode in Whiterun.

With the http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Drainblood_Battleaxe strapped to her back.

I have the Realistic Lighting Overhaul mod installed.

Lydia is my little chirping portable torch.

A mini-maglite for days of yore if you will.