About: Companions

Oh this takes me back. The funnest thing our guild in UO did was to get into groups of 3 or 4 and hire a npc from town who was very wimpy and gripey. We had to keep him alive for quite a distance. The whole time he would complain ,wander off, and get attacked by everything. It was histerical. Now that was UO. It was its own entity. We created a lot of our own fantasy and fun, and the world was made to allow us to do that.

 

If there are NPC "hirelings'' that follow you and fight with you, ideally wouldnt want them to be something you depend on. i didnt like the mercanaries in diablo 2. People's mercanaries could defeat another player in a duel.
But at the same time, I loved having a necromancer in diablo 2 that summoned a bunch of undead minions and be completely dependent upon them... I think that if your character class involved assembling a small army perhaps it could be an ok thing. I wouldnt want the followers or summons to overpower every other player though.