Best and worst companions in video games

[Zeraki]

For best I would probably go with either Midna from Twilight Princess or Elizabeth from Bioshock: Infinite.

For the worst? I'm going to avoid the obvious of saying Fi, instead I'm going to bring up another insufferable tutorial character that never shuts the hell up. Alia from Mega Man X5. Oh how I hated her... "Yeah, I get it! You can shut up now... no seriously. Shut up and let me play the game!". It's made even worse by the fact that X5 is already ridiculously bogged down by tons of unskippable dialogue.

X5 was kind of insulting now that I think of it. I spent years on the series from the SNES days to PSX. X4 was good... then I get into X5 and the game treats me like I'm a complete idiot.

 

[FalloutJack]

The Talking Deathclaw from Fallout 2 whose name I can't remember!

Goris, the scholar.

OT: Hmmmm...

For best, let's go with all of my highly-destructive and powerful Personas/Demons in any Shin Megami Tensei type game.

For worst? Let's go with frigging ESCORT MISSIONS. 'Nuff said.

 

[Bonecrusher]

For me, Elizabeth is not that great a companion, currently crowd-favourite AAA game is Bioshock Infinite, but nothing more. There are tons of better companions in PC games.

Dak'kon from Planescape Torment is one of my favorite companions, it is enjoyable to discuss philosophies with him.
If we include items, then Lilarcor, comic relief talking sword.
Keira: Not a great companion but a great mentor.
Sam&Max: Insane duo.

 

[El Chiwawa Loco]

Fawkes from Fallout 3, obs. He was a one man army.

Exactly, the moment I found Fawkes in the vault was the moment I stopped considering using any other companions in Fallout 3

 

[likalaruku]

Worst? I'd guess the companions from Daikatana.

 

[AlbertoDeSanta]

Daxter was always a good Companions. Sure, he wasn't very 'useful' per se, but he provided good humor. Worst is more tricky. Defintely Fi, from Skyward Sword, with her incessant babbling that no one gives a shit about.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Well, obviously the best duo in gaming history has got to be these two

Spoiler

[http://media.photobucket.com/user/DarkS0d0m/media/Noxus/AnnieTheDarkChildReverseSkin.jpg.html]

That bear does anything for you... Tanks towers, pushes towers, bitchslaps your lane opponent while you farm, provides massive burst, facechecks bushes, tower dives while you farm. Endless possibilities.

As for worst... Ehh, I got nothing. Maybe Claptrap from Borderlands 2? But I was one of those crazy people who actually liked him. The one time where he just wants a high five and your only choice is to just to ignore him and walk off... Oh come on game! Give him a break! </3

Wow, that is really, really cute.

Isn't it?! My one regret in my Annie playing career is that I bought Panda Annie (because it was new, shiny and exciting) over Reverse Annie. IT'S JUST SO CUTE AHHHH NHFA9SUGJF-AW9FUEGTG

 

[Machine Man 1992]

I'm going to throw in my two cents and say Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite was one of the most helpful, least obtrusive characters I've had the pleasure of playing alongside. She's right up there with Serana from Skyrim: Dawnguard.

Also, I'm going to include Johnson from Shadows of the Damned, as he is completely necessary to the gameplay because he's also your gun.

Worst... Well, a lot of the companions from Bethesda games were pretty annoying, but you could dismiss them if they get too irksome, or just strike out on your own. Worst companion would have to be someone you escort, someone who takes your ass for granted and has no survival instincts. Someone who's utter lack of charm makes the game less for their presence...


Liara T'soni in Mass Effect 3. Once (if) you get Javik, she's basically useless, serving only to suck up medi-gel from getting killed all the goddamned time.

 

[drh1975]

For the best, I'd go with these folks:
Garrus (Mass Effect series)- There is no Shepard without Vakarian.
Clementine (The Walking Dead)- I would have sacrificed everyone to keep this child safe.
Serana (Skyrim-Dawnguard)- Why can't all companions have a personality like hers?
Luigi (Mario)- The greatest sidekick in gaming. Without him, there is no "Mario Bros."
Clank (the smarter half of Ratchet & Clank)- Where would Ratchet be without him?
The worst:
Sheva (RE 5)- Stay out of the way, you dimwit. And stop wasting ammo.
Marcurio (Skyrim)- "I am an apprentice wizard, not a pack mule." Eat shit.
Anders, Fenris (DA 2)- Quit whining, you two. Seriously, Bethany Hawke is more of a man than these crybabies.
Zeke (inFamous)- True, he's not a follower, but he's still a dumbass.

 

[Vetta E-dom]

Worst- The stupide dog from Fable 2/3 (which I've said in similar threads)
I'm so glad that in an adventure game full of collectable shinies they've taken out all incentive to actually you know explore, not only that but the thing wont shut up!

 

[skywolfblue]

Best:
Elisabeth from BS:I. Doesnt get in the way, cant get killed AND gives you ammo / salt /health on a nice basis while not overdoing it. I liked her.

Worst:
All the skyrim companions (EXCEPT that horse from the dark brotherhood) But that is more because after an hour or three of playing, they are all as usefull as a packing mule.

Those are pretty much my thoughts as well.

Elizabeth has unique dialogue and animations and interacts with the environment around her in a very real way.

The followers in Skyrim go "oh look a cave!" and proceed to make a kilometer detour to avoid a 3 cm dip in terrain.

 

[Zeckt]

Fi ruined the game for me too, I got tired of constantly being reminded that my batteries were low every 5 minutes breaking my immersion which results in me having no fun.

Second I hated Anders in DA2. I was so glad he was a party member after playing awakening but that was before they turned him into a terrorist.

 

[Sonntam]

Donald and Goofy from Kingdom Hearts.

You just kept them stocked with healing potions and they healed you during the fight. Best healers I've ever had. They didn't waste them when I got hit just for a tiny amount of damage, but chucked them at me when I was truly in trouble.

They healed each other too and I didn't have too worry too much about their health. But when I healed them, they actually said "thank you!" for it.

Sure, they still died in boss battles, but they also rezzed from time to time during the fight just to toss out a healing spell and heal me when I was in a tight spot. (And died consequently again, but, hey, thanks for your sacrifice!)

Normally companions make shitty healers, running out of mana too soon or dying in two hits. Also when they are too strong they simply take out the enemies for me and I get bored and annoyed by their kill steals.

However I rarely get really annoyed by companions. Sure, most of the time they are useless, but one learns to ignore them.

The only companion I truly hate would be Corvo from SWoTR. And that largely because his combat auto-remarks annoy the hell out of me. I didn't even wait till I got another companion, I just replaced him with the droid, even if the droid was completely worthless. At least it kept quiet.