Really, what I'm getting out of this thread is simply the old adage; you can't make all the people happy all the time. There are characters listed here that I deeply loved having in my parties that other people loathe with every fiber of their being. Ok, fair enough. Everyone is different.
So really, what it ultimately seems we're going to need is:
- No 'required' characters. Don't force an NPC into my party for any reason (other than say, personal-story quests where they'd obviously be required, and which are also optional); especially not an NPC you can never get rid of no matter what you do.
- Optional party configuration. You can have just your character, or any selection of other characters you choose.
This way, no matter what annoying NPC's are in the game you can simply ignore them and move on with your life. Or, pick them up for the xp generated by their story quests or similar story arcs that may require them, and then leave them in a 'camp' the rest of the time.
-SDC