I literally JUST made an account on this site for the sole purpose of expressing this:
It is now 2023. Same companion, same bug, same glitch trigger (when switching companions to recruit Ellie, it seems).
4 years! This is ridiculous, y'all, it basically makes Max (or any comp. that got switched out) an unusable companion from then on cause I can't risk losing whatever good gear I give him, or take the extra consideration to make sure his perks are still active all the time.
Sorely disappointed this hasn't been addressed, Devs. This feels like a hell of an oversight for an RPG; Fallout New Vegas didn't even have anything this obnoxiously detrimental to the overall gameplay.