I don't think there actually is a way to view the skills of possible companions, and I wonder which ones are the best. I've been playing for a week now and I'm still with Lydia, (she died just once but I reloaded) I find her good enough not to pay 500g for the 3 other possible companions I've encountered, the dunmer lady in Whiterun, the guy in Windhelm and the Arcane mage in Riften. Could they be better than her? Who are the best companions in your opinion?

After the unfortunate death of Lydia, I hired Belrand, who can be found at the Inn in Solitude. Similar skillset to Lydia, but he can summon a familiar

Probably some of the Companions (Farkas, Vilkas and Aela.)

Depends what are the skills of your character , so that your companion's skills compliment yours . For instance my level 34 thief/assassin is a master of archery , sneak , alchemy and smithing , but he's very weak against magic and does not use magic apart from shouts and nightingale powers .

Hence the Arcane Mage of Riften , i think Marcuro is his name , is the best companion for me , he's really good against mages and creatures with his destruction magic and i gave him a pretty powerful robe and rings/amulet which he wears (he doesn't want to use the enchanted staves though ) , his attacks are quite powerful even against Giants and other stuffs with high HP , i rarely need to waste arrows to help him when he's in 1vs1 , except against bosses


But i think if your character is a mage , then perhaps a "tank" companion that soak the damage is best , like the mercs you can hire for 500 gold or Lydia . Didn't try the dog yet .

As a mage I wouldn't recommend a melee partner unless you are very, very precise at casting because you could end up hitting your partner all the time with your spells, and AOE spells are definintely going to be a problem. I'm travelling with Marcurio as well and took his dagger away (luckily it shows in his inventory) and gave him an enchanted bow that he uses instead of his regular bow (some of the time anyway; I've heard this is bugged, but I'm pretty sure I've seen him use it at least some of the time). I use a conjured something or other for distraction (familiar, atronach, etc).

@OP - The mages are great followers. I love Marcurio, and I've only heard good things about the others you can find who can do things from conjuring to healing depending on which one you find and take with you.

I'm using Brelyna Maryon from the College of Winterhold. I'm a mage and she's a mage. No need for a tank. There are always at least 2 Flame Atronachs keeping the enemies busy while me and her blast the enemy from range.

Derkeethus, because he is apparently glitched and never becomes non-essential.

This. I just made a post on a necromancer build and I HIGHLY recommend her. She carries a bow so even if she gets low on mana she can do decent damage. Makes the rough early levels a bit easier.

I used Marcurio (from Riften) for long stretches - he frequently surprised me with just how effective he could be. Far better than Lydia.

Those are the only two I've tested so far, but a friend of mine had a similar experience with the khajiit from the Mage College. Similar to Marcurio, but a khajiit.

I been thinking of grabbing a thief companion. Can they open master chests and doors? I haven't even used a companion to pop a chest yet so not sure if all are the same. Can anyone recommend a thief companion if so.

I like jenassa from the drunken huntsman in white run. She wears scaled light armor and duel wields glass maces and also has a bow for ranged. She does a lot of damage.

Marcurio is awesome for melee characters. We were near a fort with a lock front gate (so I couldn't get inside at first to kill the archers). As I fumbled with my bow he proceeded to nuke them with his spells from a distance and took out five in less than a minute.

There is a female orc fighter from one of the strongholds on the west side of the map(name starts with the letter B) kept her from marrying some orc and she is sometimes tougher than my lvl 37 fighter. For some reason on some creatures she like to go point blank range with a electrical staff and sword i gave her. lol she steals my kills a lot.

Only have had Lydia

Cheers

The Stray Dog. Sadly he's the one with the most personality and the one one that actually listens.

I`ve found my DB Initiate follower to be a killing machine. Slapped some full Forsworn [Superior] armor on her and gave her a 2 handed sword.
So far she has survived some pretty hairy moments with multiple Draugr Deathlords etc. She don`t speak much either, which is a boon :tongue:

So he won't nuke me by accident?

I reccomend switching up your companions every once in a while, they all have their own unique sayings and reactions to situations. Each adds a bit of personality to the game. I would like to know if anyone has found a redguard or argonian companion yet

After the unfortunate and *cough* entirely accidental *looks around nervously*, umm, I use the guy from Dawnstar

Mjoll the Lioness is a beast with two-handers and in full plate.

Not sure why Grimsever is a 1H. :sadvaultboy:

Cicero of course.

Not sure, man.

I've had Lydia, Sven and am currently going around with Uthgerd the Unbroken who seems to be pretty tough.

Is there a definitive list of companions and their locations available yet? Would like to see this.

Clavicus Vile's talking dog.

Totally unkillable. Doesn't even get "downed" like other unkillable NPCs, he's just straight invincible. Tanks dragons like a boss. Don't have to worry about friendly fire, you can never kill him or make him hostile to you.

Plus he's a lovable dog.

What's that you say? He's not a real companion? Well, I had him follow me around for 20 levels before completing the quest, and I could have had him for the whole game, so I disagree

It can happen, but usually his aim is pretty good (game AI aims better and faster than we can).

I see. Might have to ditch Lydia. Thanks for your response. :thumbsup: