You could play with a custom party in the original game too.
Start a multi player game, than create and control all chars yourself.
I did this in BG1 once, but playing with companions made the game more fun for me.
It would not be the right BG2 feeling if I do not hear "Butt kicking for goodness." or "Go for the eyes Boo." every now and then.
yes, i know you could do that, but it was more of a workaround and not a properly implemented feature
