To answer the OP directly:
It's up to Larian what they want to spend their resources on, but...
- I would want enough companions to offer a fairly full mix of race/class/alignment ( 12+ maybe? )
- I would prefer these NOT be Origin companions if that significantly reduces the total number of characters
- I would prefer that the existence of Origin companions is not evident before you meet them ( i.e. You can't see/pick them until you have met them in a previous play-through )
I think this means I agree with you
More generally, I have not played D:OS2, so I have not seen this playable companion idea before. I am exclusively a single-player gamer, and with RPGs I will always prefer to play "me", ( or if the game is good, several different versions of "me" ). So, unless I am forced to play a particular named character, the chance that I will actually play as any of these characters is probably nil ( as is the likelihood that I will have Astarion in my party at all if there is any alternative ).
I think the origins aspect of Dragon Age: Origins worked because you played through the origin story, but it was still your character. If Larian had an optional "Origins story" choice that you could attach to your character as you generate it ( i.e. an expanded D&D background choice) , that would be a way of adding some depth and dialogue choices without having to build it into a fixed companion - though clearly it might not be possible to make the story as deep.
Obviously, if these Origin characters exist solely to facilitate MP, then I care even less about them, but would be disappointed if their existence reduced the overall companion roster too much.
