Getting the most out of Fo2's companions

[NMLevesque]

TL;DR, just skim the underlined sections I guess.

Getting all dialogue and story from Fo2 companions
I generally don't like missing dialogue or story if it can be helped, barring something really boring or unnecessarily tedious. Obviously this is part of getting the most of your companions. So what kind of content do companions offer?

1.Quests: some are involved in quests. If I don't miss any quests I won't miss this content, correct? Or do some require that you pick them up in order to get it, as with New Vegas?
2.Floating heads: if you go through all dialogue options when meeting them, and throughout their related quests, will you still miss certain conversations with any of them?
3.Subtitled lines: anything of particular interest or particularly funny that I should make sure not to miss? In Fo1 I don't think I saw any such lines. They just described whatever building I was full on sprinting into/zig-zagging my way through like a fiend. Though I did read they sometimes talk to each other. I assume they didn't create lines for every possible two character combo, so any in particular + conditions to get it that might be worth shooting for.
4.Did I miss anything?

Good Company?
Also, setting aside the usefulness of each companion...since while I am one of those dreaded min-maxing completionists I cannot for the life of me stand having squad members who just annoy me, and I prefer ones whose 'company' I enjoy more...how would you characterize the experience of bringing them along? For example in New Vegas Raul will just complain about being an old man and make you regret bringing him along, even though his perk is da bomb. Whereas Jericho (Fo3) is a sadistic sociopath, whose constant stream of hatred is weirdly hilarious ("Aren't you dead yet?"), and motivating in combat ("I can't wait to see you bleed"). Lily Bowen on the other hand is just fun to watch. Go G-ma, smack dat scorpen, you got it. Now get the fudge out my way fool. Whereas Veronica and Boone both have stories that are deeply engaging, and one of them isn't a giant pain in the ass to bring into combat. So this part is very much about personal experiences.

Combat effectiveness because people probably will have something to say about this... Thought it seems kind of obvious. The first three, Sulik, Vic, and John Cassidy are among the best, and are just solid choices all around. Marcus is especially deadly but somewhere after the mid-point of the game his lack of armor can be a problem. Goris is even more restricted, but at least he's not one of the three useless dogs (although I read that having all three can be weirdly effective. I assume + Goris would be better...and cooler) Myron is workable, and also a love/hate character. His science skill is useful, whereas Skynet requires a higher science level to get them the best body--making their high science skill a moot point. Otherwise they're workable until the endgame. Lenny is a bit lacking offensively, but also has a doctor skill, which is useful I guess (though I can't see why I wouldn't raise mine enough to pass certain skill checks). Unlike those weirdos you can marry to bypass the companion limit. Not sure if that's worth my time.

Part of me kind of just wants to grab Goris, Lenny, Marcus, and Skynet to complete the freak ensemble because I kind of feel like being a silly bitch.

 

[Question2]

There arent really any companion quests. There are quests to obtain the companion, but IIRC, the only quests they are involved in AFTER getting them were cut like finding Sulik's sister. Companions generally dont interact with you after you recruit them except for floating text lines which may or may not annoy you.

I find it really annoying how they get in the way of explosives/bursts though. Or just generally charge forward to get themselves killed. Melee companions are way harder to keep alive than ranged ones. Its so much easier not keeping Sulik around past the early game.

Myron seems meh. You can get a few extra stimpacks out of him, an extra 750 xp if you bring him along to talk to Dr Troy about the jet antidote, but other than that, he doesnt do much in combat. His science skill cant be used to get Skynet since its a dialogue specific check, and most science checks can be easily bypassed with 91% science (achievable just by buying science books from vault city repeatedly).

Lenny is so bad that even chris avellone or one of the other devs said his only point was to get shot at.

Marcus strikes me as collateral damage waiting to happen ESPECIALLY if you pair him with a melee companion. Although I think hes the only companion in the unmodded game who can use energy rifles, but thats not very impressive given that vic/cassidy/skynet with gauss rifles are better. Goris is too hard to keep alive, and too hard to level generally, he was completely useless on the oil rig because the turrets would chew him up (even if you used the presidential override, the turrets kill him with friendly fire).

Edit : For ranged companions, I find that the following settings work best :

Run away : Not feeling good/Tourniquent (any lower and they dont seem to want to use stimpacks to heal before running away)

Distance : on your own (stay close causes them to spend too much time staying close, rather than firing)

Stimpacks : Use when hurt a bit

Weapons : Ranged only (ranged then melee can result in stupid decisions sometimes)

Companions benefit more from super stims because they use AP for each stim, unlike the player whom can use an unlimited amount just by opening the inventory. Healing powder is also best for melee companions since the PE loss isnt a drawback for them.

 

[burn]

I prefer to give companions only super stims and set to "use when hurt a lot/not feeling good". That way they don't spend them when it's not exactly necessary and don't waste too much APs healing. The player, on the other hand, always can open inventory and use whatever he needs.
Sulik uses SMG just as well as melee.
Also, FO2tweaks (see my sig) unlocks unavailable combat settings for companions, allowing for more granularity.

 

[naossano]

About plots or dialogs bits involving companions.

All companions have specifics dialogs, floating lines, banters, and combats quirks but rarelly location/quest specific lines. Some will betray you if you do something that they don't like it, but I won't consider it as relevant there. There are some points in which you can choose to sell one of your companion to slavery. Other points in which you can hire prostitutes so service them. Those situations involves different dialogs depending on which companion you choose.

Some companion might have a floating line when you enter a new city or a very dangerous location ( like * if i die here, don't bury me there*)

Moving on to situations specific to eachcompanion.

Sulik : Has a small involvement in Klamath in the vanilla version. Is more involved in the den and umbra tribe if you got the restoration project. He provide nice informations about the gameworlds. The most relevant non-combat interactions you get with him afterward are his wisdoms. You can get to ask him about what the spirits think about you current situation and he will provide cryptic answers about your quest or your locations, that are actual clues about what is going on. This will give him contextual interactions with almost every location ingame.

Vic : Has plot relevance in Arroyo, Klamath, the den, and vault city, but not beyond. His other non-combat usefulness is his ability to repair stuff.

Cassidy : Not relevant beyond vault city in vanilla version. With the RP, the quest about his health condition is expanded. It involves new dialogs with various scientists and reaches its end at the EPA.

Miria/Davin : Outside Modoc, the only place in which your marital status is relevant is new Reno. While not a major plot point, it is mentioned many times, and quite funny. On a side note, having a spouse forfeit your chance to pacifically infiltrate the Enclave. You have to kill them all.

Lenny : His medical skills put aside, he is not relevant outside Gecko. In the RP, he has a small involvement in the quest about cassidy health condition. Also unlock some dialogs in golgotta, and maybe the den.

Marcus : A major character in broken hills. Cease to have any meaningful interactions once you leave it. ( baring one or two jokes at Reno). Missed opportunity in Mariposa. You can grab an armor for him at the abbay if you have the RP. You can also *heal* him at vault city if you become captain of the guards.

Myron : Obviously relevant at New Reno and around it, even more relevant in the Jet/Jet antidote plot, involving Redding, Vault City and New Reno. Has scientific skills, can crafts some medications, and help you unlock some locations, like a secret stash in golgotta or the EPA.

Skynet : Not relevant outside the Sierra Military base.

Goris : Relevant in Vault 13. If you still have him with you after you leave the location, he will still have some vault 13 relevance. I am not sure if he unlock extra dialogs when you meet Xarn or Dr Schrebber. Nothing beyond.

Dogmeat/pariah dog : No plot relevance. With the RP, you can acquire an armor for dogmeat at broken hills.

K-9/Robodog : Not plot relevance. Only acknowledged by Dr Henry and Dr Schreiber.

Bess : No relevance outside Modoc.

The three companions that you can unlock at the EPA : (only with the RP) They don't seem to have location specific interactions, but I think you can unlock new dialogs or interactions with them overtime.

Relationships between companions.

Cassidy will comment on sulik tribal status, complain about lenny smell and will get really pissed about myron lack of morality.

Myron : Will want to have sex with miria and/or a female chosen one. Not sure how davin or a male chosen one enter the picture.

Marcus : Love to have Lenny around.

K-9: will acknowledge other canine companions, especially robodog.

Lenny : As mentionned earlier, can provide help with the quest about Cassidy health condition, if you have the RP.

Vic and Sulik : I don't recall anything specific, but i am sure they acknowledge some other companions.


Good company :

Putting aside their plot relevance and their combat effectiveness, I would say that I like to have Sulik, Cassidy, Vic and Lenny, as they are the ones you can get early and still keep at the end, as they are good fighters, so can build up a relationship after the many years spent and the many quests done torgether. Beyond that, Marcus and Myron are the most colorful companions and it would be a shame to not spend more time with them. I like Goris, Skynet and K-9 as concepts, but they have nowhere near as the same involvement, interaction,depth and evolution as the human companions, so they mostly feel like missed opportunities.

About the three EPA companions, they haven't really grown on me so far. They come very late into the game. I had very few play through with them as most my playthroughs were vanilla. Also, some of my playthrough were with the unlimited companions mod, so I had an army by the time I reached them.

I would like a mod for not losing bess. I would be a nice challenge to try to keep her alive to the end.

 

[NMLevesque]

Thanks for all the great feedback. One thing I've noticed is that I can't stand waiting for Goris to hide his shame every time we do battle. Guy's got some kind of weird body image issues. Also, since I play as a lady bc I wanted to see aspects of the game I didn't get from watching Let's Plays, Myron is a total creep. Plus his combat controls are super limited. So I left him in the Den. Didn't plan to break the fourth wall but w/e. So now I'm rushing over to Vault City to grab Cassidy so I can ditch 'Goris the chaste'. Then I guess I'll see what's up with Marcus, so I can get rid of Sulik. Mostly bc I have a pulse rifle sitting in my inventory to give him, partly bc I'm tired of hearing Sulik ask me 'what'cha be needing'. Altogether I'm kinda bummed about how the leveling system works. Seems like a serious challenge to get your companions to their final stage. I guess I can check their skill levels in the combat control menu...hm.