Since a lot of old fans Will probably want to reserve a spot for Minsc, that means you can take 2 of current NPCs out of Act1 - now choose which 2 are you taking?
It's rumored, and possibly confirmed by peeking through game files, that there will be four more companions to choose from. A total of eight before the Act 1 lock.
Assuming Minsc is one of them, there will be three more we haven't seen. Or maybe we've already seen them as NPCs in Act 1, like the ranger Karlach and druid Halsin.
