Do you honestly use your follower on adventures?

[Freshfromhell]

I barely take a follower with me for fear of losing them in the wild or getting them killed. Half the time they get in the way of my fighting style and the other times I need to back track 1/2 a mile because twiddle dee couldn't negotiate a rock in the road.
I haven't used them much but in my limited experience if I do take a follower to be more then a pack animal to clean out a cleared dungeon, I take the Elf Archer from Riverside. I take his sword and just leave him a bow to fight with.
What's your experience and how do you deal with the follwers in Skyrim??

 

[Eric Badders]

I nearly always have one. For my assassin I only use them for carrying items. I have them wait constantly. For my new destructo mage I use them for aggro so I can stay alive and get free shots in.

 

[Dragon Bourne]

I too use mine mostly as a packhorse, but also to keep my list of items short so I don't have to scroll as much looking for the potion I need in the heat of battle. (No, I don't need a reminder I can Quick Key it.) : )

They are helpful in drawing attention away from you though, I have to say that.

In my last game, I was addicted to having the Verminah (SP) priest with me as I had neglected magic entirely but he was awesome at using the staffs i found and weilding his own spells.

Don't think I would want to go it alone, reagardless of the followers shortcomings and annoyances.

 

[SeaDog]

If I think about it when I'm in town, I might pick one up. But for an assassin type, its not good to travel in pairs when you're trying to be sneaky. Even without an actual companion, I can't tell you how many times I have tried to shoot an arrow, duck behind a tree, and then there goes f****** Shadowmere trotting over to stomp on some bad guys.

FACK!

If stealth is what you want, go alone. If you don't mind running in and cleaning house, take a friend.

 

[M'aiqaelF]

I think they're pretty helpful, both as a packhorse and they keep some of the heat off you in battle.

 

[Doomy]

I had Lydia follow me around the entire game as packhorse and distraction. Next time I plan to play a Mage so will probably do the Archer or Mage with no H2H trick. Lydia allways liked to use Staffs if I gave them to her, hoping others will be the same.

 

[Gemini Sierra]

Ditto with the rest on having a follower. Pack horse, cannon fodder, etc.
Although as pack horses I've found that if you armor them up with heavy armor they often can't carry much afterwards.

 

[PunWisp]

Well my follower is useful enough he can kill elder dragons unarmed without losing much health.

I give my follower all the best gear and weapons, and is very useful on a hard boss, or group of enemies. He distracts them and I kill them. My follower currently has all daedric armor and weapons. Hes almost unkillable now.

 

[Zelek2]

I'm with SeaDog on this 1. As a stealth archer, I hate shooting 1 arrow while staying hidden just to have lydia run at them with a full head of steam.

 

[Freshfromhell]

I like all the responses. Evidently my playing style is very different from most of you. Part of my problem is I don't want them to die. The other part is as I am a sword & board fighter I want to move around and retreat as needed or use my shout with out Lydia or anyone else getting smacked around. There has only been one fight so far that I have had trouble with. Otherwise all dragons and main monsters I have faced have given me not much trouble.
I have started a new game as a mage character and will take a different approach and start using my followers more often. I will also continue with my Sword and Board Nord (ha ha) and start looking into spell casting followers.

 

[modi]

Lydia has been with me ever since I became Thone of WhiteRun. Although she might provide inconveniences (blocking doorways, getting in the way during fights, etc.), it is necessary to keep her around as a pack mule and as a distraction for dragons. It is much easier to deal with dragons when you have another living person around you as a diversion for the dragon.

 

[Duffmage]

My follower is a melee class fighter. I've given her the Sanguine Rose and she uses it to conjure a dremora in virtually every battle. So while both of them are keeping the enemies busy, I sneak around the back and pick people off with my bow. Only time I dont take my follower is for sneak/stealth type missions.

 

[Nightshade]

I have a few characters that use followers, while other characters work alone for roleplaying purposes (and not wanting their cover blown). Kharjo the Khajiit is my female Khajiit's follower and he's been around since she began her adventures. I like his company because he makes me not feel so alone in a land full of humans and elves.

 

[SkyrimGivesGraphgasms]

I used to use Lydia. Then she took an arrow to the knee. Just last night. Now my house in whiterun is VERY peaceful!

 

[ApacheDemon]

OMG yesterday i was ina dungeon lydia was carrying all my dragon scales and bones, i see an apprentice mage, an easy 1 hit kill with my sould absorbing greatsword.... i charge up the attack and lydia fluffing slowmo dives infront of him... i now have her soul in a gem and am walking very slowly with all this dragon crap... RELOAD

 

[xanuben]

I lost Lydia way back when I was low level (10ish). The followers, for some reason, don't know anything about shortcuts. I was running in mountains, straight downhill, while she decided it was better to take a 3 mile paved road. Haven't seen her since and I will keep it that way. I don't really loot much and as a sneaky archer, I don't need companions. Besides, once she blocked me in a narrow, dead-end tunnel and I couldn't get out... had to reload.

I'm better off alone.

 

[PunWisp]

It kinda sucks if you hit your follower with a spell or weapon, there invincibility turns off, and they tend to die quick. Including if you have a powerful attack hit them.

 

[Swordsmansmith]

I take Cicero on long journeys just because he's great entertainment! Then when I get to the place dismiss him for stealth purposes.

 

[brandon]

i had lydia when i went up against a bunch of bandits. she did great. and shes the one who killed the first dragon at the watchtower. no problem there. but then we got attacked by a dragon in the open and he did a low altitude dive bomb attack and she was gone. i think the dragon grabbed her and dropped her from the air somewhere. i never found her body. then i had jenassa and she was a great companion. but she went mia when i started the db quest. i went to sleep and woke up in the shack never seen her since. then i had aela in full dragonscale and her sneak is pretty high and we had some great adventures. then we got married and she stayed home to run the store. but the ebony blade kept whispering to me in my dreams about how it would be so strong if it had her soul. i gave in one day in a dungeon and the blade got to taste her soul. now im wifeless and companionless. forever alone with a blade that doesnt shut up and is only one point stronger.

 

[xSuoiveDx]

I use Lydia solely for carrying excess weapons, armour & assorted stuff. When it comes to clearing out places I leave her at a relatively safe location close to my starting point and move her up as I clear out each section. I use sneak & my Ebony Bow with Soul Trap to eliminate the opposition and only use the Ebony Sword ( Soul Drinker ) for the close up work. Both Bow & Sword are Legendary.