Anyone have any idea what these two factions would make of each other? Granted, the Companions aren't vampires, but I do believe they are related, one turning into a bat and one turning into a wolf. Didn't I read that werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies? If so, wouldn't that make the two factions allies if they ever met? To be honest, I think the main problem would be with the twitchy Dawnguard, especially with their belligerent and rather paranoid leader, Isran. I'm not too sure how he would take to working with a faction with a supernatural background, even if they were cured (as my Companions mostly are).

No, you probably just watched too much Underworld.

Isran is focused on killing vampires, but as a former Vigilant of Stendarr I'm sure he has similar views on other Daedric abominations.

I imagine the Dawnguard wouldn't approve of them (nor would the majority of Skyrim). However, I don't think the Dawnguard would hunt them or go to war with them because they're primarily focused on eradicating vampires. I'm sure if they succeeded in wiping vampirism out from Skyrim, they'd move on to eradicating other threats, however.

There's quite a few different versions of the legends, like what their weaknesses are for example. I'm not an expert on either, especially werewolves, but aren't they both allergic to silver and fire? They also both only come out at night, in the werewolf's case when there's a full moon.

Yes, I see your point. Isran would probably move on to creatures like werewolves, because he most probably is still a Vigilant at heart.

Very few people know that the Circle are werewolves. Isran seems to only hate vampires considering they pose more of a threat than the Circle does.

Even if Isran finds out the circle are werewolves he's gonna have a very hard time proving it to others and considering the companions are long rooted into nord culture and history it wont end well on his side if he decides to openly confront them.

You mean, because they're so deep rooted into Nord culture and have even set themselves up as good guy fighters for the weak, the populous would most probably turn nasty if he tried to wipe them out?

Something like that i guess, not to mention Jorrvaskr is conveniently located inside Whiterun lol

You've been watching too much Underworld. Silver, in particular, was not an element in werewolf myths until the early 20th century.

Vampires vary so much between cultures that pinpointing any kind of weakness other than sunlight is difficult, but there is no record of any enmity with therianthropes in any of the vampire myths I'm familiar with.

well, as long as the companions dont reveal their secret i am sure they could ally. if the companions choose to reveal their "gift", however, id see it would be dumb of the Dawnguard to ally with them, seeing as that would greatly damage their reputation with the Vigilant's. that is my take of the matter (and if i worded it poorly, i apologize, and hope you catch the point)

I think Isran only cares about vampires. He seems to ignore other threats like Hag ravens, and daedra

While they are all swilling down their mead and heartily back-slapping one another at the group-meet in Jorrvaskr.

Just drop an off-colour remark about Aela's legs and attribute it to Isran.

That ought to do the trick SIr.

Form, Norm, Storm, Perform. It's how the Roman's conquered the rest of Europe.

If that fails Sir, big piece of wood , a make-shift easel and some charcoal.

A brown-board exercise if you will.

Just to get some ideas going.

It may not be legitimate old myth, but I'm certain the idea that there's enmity between vampires and werewolves predates Underworld. Underworld likely got it from World of Darkness, but it definitely predates that, as well. I remember an episode of The Real Ghostbusters that relied on this idea (in 1987).

The thing that a lot of people in this thread seem to be forgetting is that the Companions aren't historically werewolves. This matter of the "beast blood" has been with them for hundreds of years, but the Companions have existed for thousands. The Dawnguard would put those Companions who aren't pro-werewolf (including their Harbinger, assuming you went this route) in an awkward position. On the one hand, they have no love for the curse placed on them by the Glenmoril Coven and would likely prefer to consider the Dawnguard allies, or at least not be at odds with them.

The problem is Aela. She does enjoy the beast blood, and though she will likely not be permitted to induct any new Companions into it, Nord honor would require that, so long as she remained a member in good standing, they stand by her as she stands by them. Absent the Dawnguard, they would likely consider her choice to be purely a matter of personal preference. But with the Dawnguard around, she becomes a liability. So long as the Dawnguard remain strategically focused on Vampires, the two groups would likely enjoy a chilly relationship. Iskur, though he would have no love for Vampires, would likely give Aela a pass since going after her would trigger war with the Companions, which would be a terrible distraction from their core mission.

But once the Vampire threat is dealt with, a confrontation would occur, and the Dawnguard would likely insist that Aela either get cured or be turned over to them. The Compaions response would depend on the behavior of their Harbinger. If he wavered, the controversy might even tear the Companions apart from within, with some siding with Aela, others demanding that she get cured. The damage could be mitigated somewhat if the Harbinger decided to demand that Aela get cured, himself... but it would likely damage internal relations for some time, if not force a formal split between "pro-beast" and "anti-beast" wings of the Companions. Only if the Harbinger adopted a strong "She's one of us, and we will stand by her, no matter what the Dawnguard say" would the Companions remain solid.

At that point, it would come down to the decisions of two individuals: Iskur and Aela. Is Iskur prepared to go to all-out war against one of Skyrim's most beloved institutions over a single werewolf? Is Aela prepared to drag the Companions into a potentially unnecessary fight for the sake of her tie to Hircine? Iskur might back down; Aela might decide to get cured on her own, out of respect for her comrades who are prepared to fight and die for her. Or... the war would occur. I suspect the Dawnguard would be the ones to lose, mainly because, without the Vampire threat dealt with, they don't have as much reason to exist. It's possible some of the membership would split off and join/form a newly formed chapter of the Vigil, which might make an exception for Aela provided she behaves herself.