General Companion Useage

The companions you recruit through the various means (mostly taverns), are essentially the most powerful NPC's in the game, if used properly. Using them properly involves managing their skills, attributes, gear, and tactics to ensure there is nothing going to waste. I will go into this under each companion's individual section, in more detail. In general, however, you should generallly follow a prescribed path, and have a plan for each companion.Your party should have a designated Doctor, Trainer, Engineer, Trader, Tracker, as well as a number of combat-only oriented companions. Utilize the additional unnamed groups to assign your professional warrior companions to a "Bodyguard" type unit. Your non-combat related companions should be in a seperate organizational group called "Rearguard", and only used to mop up fleeing enemies. It is important to use each character in the most efficient way possible, so don't turn your Doctor into your most powerful sword swinger, and don't expect your Tracker to suddenly become a Trader. Use what points they already have invested when you recruit them, to designate their long term goal.In your "" unit, it tends to be the most efficient if you generally make them heavy cavalry/arrow sponge. Put their attribute points in Strength (primarily) & Agility (secondarily), they have no use of Intelligence or Charisma. Their skill points should be primarily focused on Iron Flesh, Power Strike, Shield, Athletics. The skill points should be secondarily spent on Weapon Master, Riding, Horse Archery, and a ranged weapon (if desired). You should equip them with a good general set of equipment that focuses on the strength of the individual companion. Heavy armor, armored mounts, a one handed weapon & shield, and either a ranged weapon/ammo (I prefer bows for maximum ammo)a polearm/two-hander and a throwing weapon. Their deployment and use will depend on location, but generally they will assault first in a seige to draw the fire of the enemy archers. In the field, they will "Follow Me" and together we form a menacing heavy cavalry unit that can outmenauver the enemy quicky.In your "" unit, it tends to be the most efficient use of their abilities to leave them in the far rear, and to never use them except as a last resort. Them staying concious (ESPECIALLY the doctor), will benefit your army greatly, even if one battle is a loss. Their attribute points should be primarily focused on Intelligence, Charisma, or Agility (depending on their profession). Their primary skill points should be focused 100% on their profession until they max out (10). Yourshould have Tracking, Path-Finding, & Spotting. Yourshould have Wound Treatment, Surgery, & First Aid. Yourshould have Trade, Inventory Management, & Persuasion. Yourshould have Engineer, with secondary points put towards Surgery as well. Yourshould have Trainer & Tactics. Once your profession's required skills have been maxed, then aim to put extra points towards Power Draw, Riding, and Horse Archer. My "Rearguard" sits for 90% of a field battle at the rear safest corner of the map doing nothing, but once the enemy starts to retreat, I charge them in to knock out the most enemies for Prisoners. Their equipment is usually the best armor I find, that can be worn with their low strengths. Their mount is very light and fast (to chase down runners), and their weapons are usually a Bow with 2 large arrow quivers, and a mace (weapon proficiency dependant). They can sit at the back shooting arrows, minding their own business, and when its time to charge, they pull out the mace to do blunt damage to my fleeing enemies.Your final group of companions are the ones that you will potentially turn into your vassals and future lords. You need this "" group to sacrifice their own skills, to develop them into the best leaders you can. Their primary attribute is Charisma, as that is (one of) the only direct influences you can do to maximize how large an army they will control as a lord later. It is not important how much strength they have, even though that means more health, because in most of the battles they will be in in the future, the Auto-Calculations don't take that into consideration (only total army size vs total army size). Max their points in Leadership, Prisoner Management, and secondarily Path-Finding (to increase their speed on the map). It is important to not promote these companions to lords until they have maxxed out these skills, because they will level up catastrophically slow after they leave your party (and not in the skills you want them to level up in). Their equipment is based 100% around their skills, with the best armor, best weapons, and best mount that can be had, without having to 'waste' skill points in strength or agility. Once they are lords, they will auto-equip a set of armor & weapons that is a good medium grade set, unless you have equipped them with something noticably more powerful, then they will retain that better weapon/armor/mount. This sometimes means that their super-duper polearm you bought them will disappear in favor of a prefered short sword, even though the polearm is noticeably better.Finally, it is important to, over time, talk to each of your companions and send them out one at a time, for their various quests and benefits they can bring you by being away. These special quests are especially important to gain "Right-to-Rule" for end game diplomacy.