Is there any way of turning off the flirting stuff? I really liked some aspects of Vilja (the way she interacts with other NPCs was particularly clever, I thought - although I didn't like the tedious 'tee hee, girls love talking about diets!' bit) but I found the constant 'ooh, you're looking at my bottom, you naughty person!' stuff a bit irritating, given my character was married and such. (Mind you, I'm also not sure I can deal with the way she kinda looks like a walking Barbie doll or something because I don't use any mods which 'prettify'/blandify NPC appearances...)

Because extra damage and meat shield.

Because On consoles, I can't carry all this [censored] by myself I need a robot pack mule to help me.

I sometimes get a follower like Faendal early on to help carry my crap and distract my enemies if I'm playing a weak starting style like pure mage. I like running around with my Shield Brother Farkas for RP reasons but it's usually only on detours during the Companions quest.

It gives your enemies an extra person to aim at. And usually followers have an obscene amount of heal, unlike in Oblivion.

But yeah.. Mainly RP reasons. If you like up the funny videos on YouTube, most people make their own fun with followers.