There are multiple hooks for removing the Tadpole, but they lead to nothing every time. Of course for the rest of the story to work, it can't solve the problem, but it feels very forced and frustrating that it doesn't give you anything for sacrificing both eyes, following leads to different sidequests, etc. It doesn't advance the plot at all and as such I consider it bad storytelling. In DnD terms, it's railroading. If for example you could cure companions, but not yourself for some story reason, this would lead to interesting character interactions and inject more background info. Would they stick around? If so, why? If not, will you meet again?
I wouldn't say that it doesn't give us anything. Each new attempt gives us information. If we don't talk to Nettie, we won't see Halsin's research and learn that there is another one tadpole-infested being and it's a freaking drow from the Underdark. When we agree to let Auntie Ethel remove our tadpole, she reveals that it's Netherese magic that affects the parasite. Even if we speak with priestess Gut, we find out that all goblins are unaware that they have tadpoles and Gut mentions us having "shadows". We learn something new almost every time, which lets us put some pieces together and be more attentive to future encounters.
The companions are a bit forgettable. For each of them you get the standard "dark secret", most are jerks and uncooperative (maybe with a nice facade) and cooperate because of story reasons, but their ambitions are at best to get away from their "dark secret". It would be nice if they'd differentiate a bit more and had more interesting goals in the future. Having a healthy variety of personalities and past-oriented vs future-oriented companion quests would feel a lot more satisfying. For example one of my favourite companions of all times was Kaelyn the Dove from the Mask of the Betrayer expansion for Neverwinter Nights 2: She didn't have much of a background story, but she wanted to storm the heavens for a percieved injustice of how the world works. Even if BG3 needs to stay with the whole evil party vibe because Baldur's Gate is a hive of scum and villainy, why not mix in manipulative evil, evil in the name of good, evil but loyal, evil for a purpose, pure-monster evil, pragmatic evil, trying-to-convince-yourself-to-be-evil, slowly-slipping-into-evil,
I had this impression once I started played, but now I'm actually interested in finding out more about each character. Also, I believe that there is a reason why every party member comes with a skeleton in the closet. This is why they got chosen by the entity behind strange tadpoles. Shadowheart's and Lae'Zel's storylines are closely intertwined, I'm pretty sure of it. Gale is a waling nuke and someone wants him on their side, Wyll's demon is in the hands of the mind-controlling entity, etc. In addition, I don't think that the evil party members are evil just because. Astarion can be described as the most unreasonably evil guy since he approves of many evil things done by the player, but he has been a vampire lord's toy for 200 years. It's hard to imagine the depravity and wickedness he had to see and participate in. At this point, he had to become desensetized and even used to such things just to stay sane.
Shadowheart is...not evil. She is secretive, sarcastic, practical (also, she hates when the player wastes time on solving somebody else's problems, when they have their hands full), but she isn't cold-hearted or mean just for the sake of being mean. She has a task from the Shar's clergy and she is focused on it, but there are many hints that she is being used and her own identity was stolen from her. So, all these grim talks come from what the clerics of Shar told her - her own views may change depending on our actions.
Lae'Zel is my least favorite companion so far, but she has her good moments. For example, it's funny how well she gets along with Gale. He keeps asking her about gith technology and world, and she tells him without a hint of frustration, even opening up about things that worry her. All other party members (MC included) don't get the same treatment.
I personally would appreciate a "(sarcastic) Oh really, I'm shocked" dialog option at Astarion's vampire revelation. Or more fun: Make somebody else the vampire (though I suppose that's a bit harder) wink
I'd love to sass him too, but I guess this option wasn't implemented for a reason. Vampires aren't a common sight in Faerun, they don't leave many traces or witnesses. So, it's perfectly normal that your character has never seen a vampire in the flesh, so wouldn't be able to recognize one, especially when he walks in the sunlight (that is supposed to kill vampires). It may be obvious to a player, but a Faerun commoner would rather think that Astarion is an oddball who probably landed on his head during the fall.
