I think the comparison to bg1 is completely unfair, since the companions in bg1 were little more than blank NPC with few punch lines. The companions in bg2 were much much better, but still I don't think there was as much work invested in them as in the companions in bg3. And I also really think that more is not necessarily better. I prefer quality over quantity every time
You are right. Expecting there to be as many companions as in BG1 is not reasonable. But only 8 companions in BG3, especially if 5 of those 8 are Act 1 companions some of whom you end up losing at the end of the Act, is also unreasonable imho. People have been throwing around the number 12 as how many companions we will get. That is a pretty reasonable number. But I am very skeptical of that number.
