I would like companions/guards if I got them like I did in oblivion from the guilds, but I would also like the option to by slaves and guards, and have all wear what I give them to wear, I want them no stronger then they were in oblivion, ( as they were really too weak to steal my kills, died quite often, were replaceable and they dont need names or the computer can just denote vanilla names to them), different types of slaves would be nice also like guard/cook/housekeeper/gardener/miner/warehouse worker/ect,.. these could be implemented easily, as they by type would just go thru motions in the area in which you tell them to stay, adding to the general feeling of reality without being necessary, especially if they bring in great-houses or the like again with strongholds you can build like the house Hlaalu one outside Balmora with the mine attached, I wanted more miners and more guards for my stronghold then they offered, and if I want 10 weak guards running with me, let me have em, lol love to see them get massacred also.

Any companions I have are going to spend a lot of time waiting outside of cave entrances.

I'd say the only thing Obsidian didn't completely screw up with in New Vegas was the companions (Character wise) Veronica was cooler than many of the Mass Effect 2 companions (Miranda, Jacob, Jack, Grunt, Kasumi)

@Lady

I think pretty much everyone here is a Bioware fan devs included

NO to everything you said, except the part about Veronica, but I dont want tough support characters in TES, weak ones that at most, die violently, easily replaced, wear what I tell/give them, and maybe cause enemies to target them for the few seconds I need to cast spells or use my bow/sword to thin their numbers enough to make them somewhat manageable, like in a goblin cave or too many undead at once in a tomb.

As for the Bioware fan thing,... NOOOOO,.... they make an alright game for killing a wk of your life, but they are too greedy for my liking, from the way they release their games and at the same time offer DLC, then selling a GOTY edition with none of the DLC on it once again.

Only if every NPC in the game has the potential to become a companion, unless it's associated with the main quest.

It would kind of ruin replayability if every game I met up with Bob the Dunmer and had identical magical adventures everytime I made a new character.

Companions in Beth games (so far) only work in the PC where I can basically make them invencible, on consoles or simply with their non altered HP I can't use them in battlefield if there are over three enemies in the area...

In games liek DA or ME I absolutely love companions but I'm not sure it really fits the TES universe.

I prefer to travel alone and I just don't think Companions would fit into an Elder Scrolls Universe.

"M'aiq prefers to adventure alone. Others just get in the way. And they talk, talk, talk."
Nothing wrong with talking Maiq but they would just get in the way and remember the followers in Oblivion how easily they got killed when they fell prey to the dreaded spike pit.

I can understand a wish to travel alone, but the statement "they wouldnt fit into TES universe"???? In what way? Because you start off alone you have to stay alone? No that statement is just wrong, this is a rpg no 2 people play exactly the same way, so unless you gonna tell me what role I have to play you cant make that statement.

moar companion cube.

I would like to have full featured companions, but they should be optional. If you want to play a brooding loner, that should be an option. It fits certain types of characters, like assassins. But I would also like the option to play a more sociable character, which hasn't really been supported before in an ES game. Certain characters should be more sociable. Soldiers, for instance, who are used to serving in units, side by side with their brothers. The brooding loner archetype doesn't fit that kind of character.

In the way that some are asking for DA or ME quality level companions. Something impossible since both these games are much more linear and story driven than TES, thus making it possible to create realistic and human like companions. In TES however it's nearly impossible to create companions with the same level of depth as those in DA or ME. That's why I and other peole say that sometimes companions don't fit the TES universe.

Then don't.

If they added companions, you can simply choose not to use them.

As long as TES isn't revolving around 2-3 fighter combat, which I doubt it will be.

If you dislike companions, or you don't want them borrowing alot from bioware/FO, or prefer to go it alone, simply choose not to use them.

PS Skullcrusher- In FONV the companions you can acquire are very well fleshed out IMO. In FO they were just NPCs that followed you but they definately improved storywise on them with FONV. And these games with their predesscors have always been pretty open.

Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes! Absolutely want companions like the ones in FO3 and FNV. Proper ones available for adoption by the player. They can be as fleshed out as the NV ones (please without the bugs) or as bare bones as the FO3 ones (the NV ones did have nice stories but the FO3 ones had some things that were better about them even if they didn't have lots of backstory or quests).

And, for those of you that don't want companions don't use them. I played most of Oblivion with no one following me about and it was lonely. I played a lot of FO3 with no companions and never noticed they were even in the world. If you don't want them you don't have to hire them. I would imagine Beth would implement them the same way in Skyrim if they chose to do it there.