The benefit of having a "flesh and blood" synthetic human would, to me, be infiltration. If you had a purely undetectable asset placed in places of power that didn't even KNOW it was an asset until activated...imagine the potential for subversion of established governments. MK Ultra anyone? Manchurian Candidate much?

As for the more robotic nature of the attackers shown in the videos? Perhaps they're earlier models. Look at all the Mr. Handys/Gutsys and other assorted mechanical types wandering the Capital Wasteland.

I like this place already. I wonder how these new characters will fit into the story. We already know about The Railroad. I hope they expand more on that.

in T2, Arnold actually defines cyborg to Dyson as Cybornetic Organism and he wasn't originally a human, just saying. Now, the guy in salvation, yeah

This was the impression I got as well. The flesh and blood were just covering over the internal machinery. I would define a cyborg as a marriage of organic and machine materials. I believe the terminators flesh was organic as otherwise it wouldn't have been able to go through the portal. Only something outwardly organic could go back. Why they couldn't bring advanced energy weapons.

That sounds like good material for a companion. You think its just another human helping you support faction A. and then blam!, it was really an android working for faction B, ready to turn on you.

I actually think at one point at the game the player will be asked to find out if X is an android and well will get out closest actualy link to Bladerunner yet

There will be a desk and a Voight-Kampff looking machine where you ask the possible Android questions.

Typically in the game I dont actually think we will see anything much like Harkness or Armitage . We will mostly in combat esp be encountering failed Snythetic lifeforms that were 'released' or scrapped. Perhaps monitored in the wild but mostly left to their own devices.

I imagine Harkness was a special case of an android designed to look and function more like a human than any other. And I personally don't give a rat's about whether they're supposed to be called androids, bioroids, reploids, replicants, whatever. Brings me back to the "Skyrim's dragons are wyverns!" days.

Anyway, I'm hoping synths are a really tough opponent when we fight them. High-quality armor and energy weapons, durability, and the tenacity to keep on attacking you after they've lost limbs. Seeing that one synth's face get blown off in the E3 sizzle reel was really satisfying.

It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

or have run away

Todd Howard is an android, I read it on the internet so it must be true.

I disagree with the "Harkness and Armitage" thing. I believe we'll see more of these type of androids simply because The Railroad and The Institute exist in this in the area the game will be taking place in. The mission involving Harkness may become more of a thing in that you MAY be tasked with finding fugitive androids and it will be your choice on whether or not to turn them in to The Institute or allow them to run off with The Railroad.

A line heard at the Institute's SRB armory: "I need a http://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Q-35_matter_modulatorhttp://fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Plasma_rifle_%28Fallout:_New_Vegas%29 plasma rifle in the forty-watt range."

The idea of having a flesh exterior is that, while it may mean other systems, weapons or augments cant be implemented, it can integrate with a human society and blend in.
Harkness was made to capture other robots from the commonwealth, so i dont know why he had to have a flesh exterior..
Perhaps it took him to places outside the commonwealth and thats why he needed the flesh? So that nobody in say, DC realised he was a high-tech android and decided to take him

Synths are new monsters to be killed. They have endless potential beyond that and I hope the designers realized that.

I'm betting that you will get help from Synths too. Also, I would really like a couple of Synth companions.

Dogmeat is already a Synth Companion.. just how many do you want?

Hmmm would he still be dogmeat? Or maybe dogbolt? Ooh or dogscrew?! Nope, dogcog!

Look at it:

The Dog gets your item you point at no matter what. Sure a Dog might normally do that too, but after a while the dog would just stop as its too tired or occasionaly get you the wrong thing. That dog is picking up every Wrench, screw, wonderglue and scrap metal you click at and order it to get.

Thats the sign of a computer on /off response. Its a Synth Dog named Dogmeat.

Oh the doggy is definitely synthetic! He is video game character!

heh.

Now i have this idea of the Institute monitoring me wherever I go. That Brahmin in the field I pass with the rest of its herd.. its a 2 headed SPY and a Synth.. blending in sending images back to the Institute. !

You just need to destroy everything you see. Only way to be safe lol

I think you dont want the player suspecting ever human they meet of being a life imitating Android. Otherwise that just cheapens the reveal for when a person is revealed to be an Android. THats why I think it would be better to have the reveal be of an animal (which for a technical standpoint would be far easier to replicate than a human).

Never thought of animals. Would make sense considering that the synths are a reference to Blade Runner, which was full of fake animals:

Nobody does. Genetically Animals are far easier to tinker with than humans.. and the brains arnt anywhere near as evolved.

I plan to always keep some Explosive rounds for my 12 gauge close by. In case I run into Barry again....

I'd love to see the more sophisticated Human androids blend in around the world, maybe even some you might never know were androids unless you decided to shoot them.

My Guess is a majority of Synths will be Robotic drones and soldiers, lacking the human features of their android counterparts, doing the bidding of the institute, or malfunctioning and going rogue, etc. With the Androids being a more subtle self perceptive AI, like Harkness and Zimmer's Bodyguard playing a role in the stories and factions; Like the Railroad and the Synth retention Bureau.

So the http://falloutforge.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/fallout-4-concept-art-synth-generation.jpg in the http://cdn.gamerant.com/wp-content/uploads/New-Fallout-4-Art-Introduces-Generation-2-Synths-700x389.jpg appear to be a generation 2, which makes me wonder what generation Harkness and Armitage were. There doesn't appear to be anything biological about these early models, simply rubber skin like the http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l1ppbfzFSa1qa7qbyo1_500.jpg series in Terminator. In Terminator, they made the jump from rubber skin to having organic tissue grafted on. Do you think Harkness had http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080313215656/terminator/images/a/ac/Terminator3-09.jpg or some really good simulated tissue? Simply seeing the concept art is making me doubt my earlier theory about a reverse robobrain, it would be too radical of a departure from the presented early models. Since the bulk of the machine we see is just an armature, there would be plenty of room for flesh. Though I don't see much room for organs, so I don't know how Harkness ate stuff, unless his model had far more efficiently sized mechanical components in the torso cavity.