Since I've been studying the Henchmen in search of one to fill my fourth party slot, I figured I'd go ahead and start a list of the "Problem" Henchies on the list. A lot of them have oddball skills or talents that they literally can't use, at least not in the state they're in (some can make up for this once they go up a level or two, while others cannot). Some of them just have insane numbers, in relation to their level (although that can be seen as the opposite of a "problem" in some cases).
Cain - Level 1 Fighter
Cain somehow has +5(!) in Man-at-Arms. He has no other skills and only starts with one Skill, but still - that's 15 skill points worth of Man-at-Arms at 1st Level. Just a shame that you'll be at least Level 3 by the time you can hire him.
Ragnar Bezerker - Level 1 Fighter
Ragnar has +1 to Charisma, which is a useless skill for Henchies.
Ferdinand - Level 1 Knight
Ferdinand has +1 to Charisma, which is a useless skill for Henchies. Likewise, he has the Politician talent, which is double-useless for Henchies (+2 Charisma, -1 Intelligence).
Claresta - Level 1 Cleric
Claresta has +1 to Charisma, which is a useless skill for Henchies. She, uh, also doesn't actually have any weapon or magic skills, making her pretty bad at the whole cleric thing. Might be why she's still only Level 1.
Lady Svanhild - Level 1 Witch
Lady Svanhild has the Elemental Affinity talent, but no Elemental spells (only Witchcraft). Does Witchcraft actually get any benefit from Elemental Affinity? I mean, you can still give her training in another Elemental school at a later level, but when hired she's stuck with a talent she can't immediately use.
Erinaja Sanguinar - Level 1 Ranger
Erinaja has the Far Out Man talent, but no actual spells or magical abilities. Again, you can mitigate this by training her in magic at a later level, but it's useless for her at 1st level.
Tal'sana - Level 3 Shadowblade
Tal'sana has the same issue as Lady Svanhild - she has the Elemental Affinity talent, but is only trained in Witchcraft. A minor issue, but worth mentioning.
Sanjuro - Level 5 Knight
Sanjuro is designed to be a two-handed weapon fighter (+2 Man-at-Arms, +3 Two-Handed) but she only starts with 7 Strength. This is only enough strength to wield a 1st-level Two-Handed weapon. Not a huge issue, but notable.
Balsam Summerfire - Level 5 Ranger
Balsam has +1 to Charisma.
Lady Elmogara - Level 8 Cleric
Lady Elmogara has +1 to Charisma and the Politician talent. She's also somewhat odd in that she has the Arrow Recovery talent, but no training in Bows or Crossbows (her skills make it clear she's a sword-and-board melee fighter).
Elandril - Level 11 Wizard
Elandril has +1 to Charisma.
Wanderwind - Level 12 Rogue
Wanderwind has +1 to Charisma and the Politician talent.
Vynn - Level 20 Shadowblade
Vynn has +2 to Charisma and the Politician talent.
Trethon - Level 20 Wizard
Trethon has +2 to Charisma.
Khalendra - Level 20 Cleric
Khalendra has +2 to Charisma.
Kislyk - Level 20 Knight
Kislyk has +5(!) to Charisma.
It's also worth noting that there are some definite oddities to the talent selection for certain classes. For example, there are NO rogues or shadowblades with stealth-related talents (Back-Stabber, Guerrilla, Speedcreeper). This can also be seen with Rangers and ranger-specific talents, as well as Mages and their Willpower-oriented talents, and Warriors with their Men-at-Arms oriented talents.
I suspect that this is due to the fact that several of these talents used to be bonuses provided by skills (Man-at-Arms, Way of the Ranger, Way of the Rogue, etc.) but its still worth mentioning. This leads to some very odd Level 12 and 20 builds for henchies, such as a Level 12 Rogue with Bully, Five-Star Diner, Light Stepper, Politician, and Scientist as her talents of choice.
