I do feel like long rests have consequences in the game. Some open quests close once you take a long rest. Your companion progression moves forward.
For example, I noticed that Gale will not talk to you about his need for magic ites once you reach a certain point in the game - he will talk to you after a set amount of long rests (unfortunately I don't remember the exact amount of nights it takes off my head). I didn't try to make the game explode enough to tell if or after which amount of days without consumed magic he will die (and apparently take everyone with him), but I certainly feel like this will make you feel like you shouldn't spam the long rest too often - because you will only get so many magic-enough-items between your rests.
I am also surprised many people feel like Gale is the attack focus. Honestly in my 2 whole runs so far, he wasn't the one being attacked the most often - he simply died more quickly because as a mage, he has less HP. For me it was Shadowheart who was sure to die in every single fight. So to me, the AI didn't feel off. They always seemed to aim for a character they have the chance to get advantage against.
