Depends on the playthrough. I usually only use them when I'm sneaking around 2 or more enemies and I want to kill them quickly. They also do wonders indoors when bounced around corners (like someone said earlier).

HOW CAN U SAY THEY ARE USELESS.
You just dont know how to use them, in my opinion melee is more useless and unrealistic. Grenades are good, depending on the situation of course, but i always tend to carry atleast 3 of them with me, along with my trusty assault rifle/battle rifle/machine gun/minigun etc.

Man you should have seen grenades on the old games! The grenade exploding animation was so funny (cuz of the bad graphics) that it made throwing one of my two fave skills in the originals.

On New Vegas i nearly always carry about three of them for cripling legs or making a big ass explosion (throw a grenade and then another as soon as you can and the first one will explode the second!) that takes a large portion of the enemies life. But in a pure explosives playthrough? I
ditch them as soon as i can.

Agreed! LOL

I made the mistake and gave a companion some grenades... I ended up with a few crippled limbs. -.- I had to take the grenades away from him. LOL
I think I can count on one hand how often I chuck 'nades at my enemies. VATS? Man, I never even thought to use VATS with grenades. The only time I use them, is if there is a small crowd of enemies ahead of me. Most of the time I just use my equipped weapon though and forget about the grenades.

I also find mines to be rather useless. I don't remember one instance, where I had time to set up "traps". So, I just end up selling mines. lol

As do I; grenades and dynamite especially are worth quite a handful

No.

You ever played tactics? Theres some enemies with a [censored] load of health that can only melee atack you. This is when those nice mines you collected in macomb and st. louis come in handy

No, just played Fallout 3 and New Vegas. However, after I posted that comment, I suddenly had a brilliant idea and now know a good use for the mines. There's a certain spot in Lonesome Road, where something spawns after you enter something... perfect place to use some of those mines! LOL

That truck where a deathclaw spans in top of it the highway? Doesnt sound half bad actualy

There are a lot of situations where mines can be very effective. Unfortunately, if you play with companions, they usually bollix up most of those situations

Grenades are more of a Fallout 3 type thing but in emergencies, I might use one or two.

A strategy a Melee ir Unarmed character could use would be to throw grenades at an enemy they are charging. That way, even before they can attack them, the enemy will be injured and crippled.

i use frag grenades i got my explosives to 25 just so i could use them to there maximum effect as a frag grenade does wonders when tossed down a hallway towards an unsuspecting group of foes.

This.
I use grenades in the Mojave, sure, but just not very often. Go back and play Fallout 3 on the other hand and you'll realize why. A large part of the Mojave is just wide open space, which isn't the case in Fallout 3 where there's closed in spaces and corridors, not to mention the knowledge that even if you throw the damn thing at your feet, you'll barely take any damage. Throwing grenades at a deathclaw, cazador or fire gecko? That's an absolute joke. In Fallout 3 they feel like a lifesaver, here they're kinda nice but you might just end up selling them for the sake of the extra carry weight.

I use them more often since I modded them to make the Counter Stike: Source "Fire in the hole" voice when thrown.
Best AI in a game ever.

Grenades are a blessing those times when they ARE needed - Lifesavers!
I have recently 'learned' how to make, Tin Grenades - cheap and plentiful. I will be using them, 'willy nilly'...

Mines, are a Snipers, best friend (his rifle is his 'wife') - Spot the enemy (eg.DC) first, choose your defensive position, 'booby trap' the avenues of approach, engage the target(s)
One would hope the enemy does not reach the mines (so they can be disarmed and reset) and that they are downed before they get that close, but should sniping them fail, one has a second line of defence.
Mines, are also VERY useful during tactical retreat.

As both, grenades & mines are relatively expensive, they should only be used if necessary (& if you have high Explosive skill).

When to use Grenades:
- Medium Range
- Heavily Out Numbered
- Out Gunned/Out of Ammo
- Low on Health
- Targeting 2 or more Clustered Enemies
- To Incapacitate the target(s) ASAP, if need be

That would be hilarious. Have you considered uploading it to the Nexus?

I think mines (and/or c4) are a better friend of a sniper then grenades, as they are great to booby trap with.

Edit: ups sorry misunderstood that i completely agree, and its also a comando′s/heavy troopers/SUICIDE BOMBERS very good friend too. As i said, learn to use them and u will count them as a blessing

I find the guns in New Vegas are so powerful and enjoyable to use that I dont have enough interest in using grenades.

OMG ITS ARCADE ARCADE YOU OLD NERD Hows your family?
You usually use grenades in mine (since i always overflow you with it) how come you have taken a liking to gunz?

Arcade? Didn't I sell you to Caesar?

you do realize YOUR STEALING MY JOKES

that was all

i sometimes use grenades, i just use them in vats.

After GRA came out...yes...a lot.

"Does any one here have intel' on Nuka-Grenades ?"

...
...
...

edit*NVM - Hahahaha - I made some and found me a few (aggressive) survivalist Powder Gangers to test one on!

They are seemingly a composite of all grenade types, with standard blast radius and fuse time-delay.
Great addition to the arsenal!