It's nice to have someone to soak up all the damage while I turn my enemies into needle cushions.
Though they do slow me down and require me to give them orders all the time so that evens it out.

If they gave a one button shortcut to Talk - "I want you do something for me" - Order Mode I would've used companions all the time.

That's a mod if I've ever heard one.

the only time i used a companion was for Extra loot, had them join me, stole there ♥♥♥♥, Then made them follow me while i shove all of my junk into the her/him

That said i am a Mage / Archer mainly the sad thing is im far too high that my weapons in closecombat = ♥♥♥♥, to deal any serious damage.

That said i'm going to start again, since my two previous files was just me pissing about to get used to stuff, starting two more files, a full on Nordic Fighter following the Stormcloaks and being a racist arrogant twat. and a imperial archer, swordsman (duel weilding) who is a ex Assassin for my own RP amusement.

honestly what i really would enjoy is having Guards as companions, Being able to order a guard or somthing to follow you, (of course it be even more fun, if you can take over a castle / city and be a Jarl yourself)

Most awesome area in both view and music: Blackreach. <3
(You'll come across it eventually, so I won't tell where to find it.)

i really wish the modding tools will come out soon, i really wanna see what mods will come out, as of now there a person who made the greybeard cloak useable without the need of the tools.

The only companion you need is Shadowmere. Fearless invincible horsetank.

Aside from using them as pack mules, companions can give a good boost early on for mages and thieves, since you'll be a bit lacking in the defense department. Lydia is easy to acquire, has enough health to withstand a fair bit of fire, and can cause very high damage with the axe of whiterun or any other heavy weapon, due to her high Two-Handed skill.

Oh also, companions are pretty much essential to vampires, since you can feed on them indefinitely without risking being discovered by town guards. When my female thief got vampirised, I had to feed on Lydia pretty much every day, or my fire resistance would drop to apalling levels. We were totally in lesbians, at least until I found the cure.

I've heard if you hold down E instead of just pressing it on them, it goes straight into order mode. Never tested it though, since I never use companions.

Been. Many hours. Can't. Remember. Post. Etiquette. Many. Skyrim. Hours.

Skyrim is affecting me.
Every time I see an Argonian or Khajiit, I immediately think they're good people, no matter what, and I hate when I have to kill them.
I love killing Nords and such.

I AM A SKYRIM RACIST

Hah. It had the exact opposite effect to me. Nords are okay, but dammit foreigners, we don't want you in Skyrim!

I play a full plate warrior and still find companions useful. They can carry my stuff and distract enemies while I plant my axe in their back. Yesterday I decided to let Lydia have a break and some questrelated briarheart warrior killed me in one hit.

There are several quests where there are just too many enemies for me to handle. Maybe lack of skill on my part, but meh.

i think Skyrim is making us all Racist D:

Occasionally quests or instances will throw enemies at me that seem much stronger than anything else nearby, like an arch-pyromancer who can kill me in two hits from across a long hallway in a keep full of mages that I can kill in a single axe swing. This can be frustrating but it's also good to have an actual challenge every so often.
If it didn't happen then there wouldn't be much challenge at all, with Dual Flurry and Elemental Fury I can kill a Dwarvern Centurion in two-three power attacks, before it has even properly woken up!

I'm happy when I'm commanded to murder lizards or kitties.

I'm angry when I have to download mods to kill kids, yes,
I do kill everything, even fishes, no witnesses, no crimes.

Allow me to point if Bethesda made kids not-able-to-witness-crimes
and made one simple animation which made the kids look like in shock,
I wouldn't have to use mods on this "masterpiece" of RPG's genre...