Thanks for taking the time to write this up, Myriad!
It's good to have feedback coming in from different types of gamers, and a well thought out discussion is always worthwhile feedback ^.^
While most of your discussions of the story and narrative elements here are sound, I feel like it shows that you've been browsing the story discussion and data-mining threads on the side as well, and I'm concerned that that's colouring your perspective on the actual writing and conveyance of the game itself (you used a handful of terms and terminology that don't show up anywhere in game, that people have only picked out from deeper mining). you'll probably find a number of people who'll disagree with you about the writing, but many who agree as well. For myself, personal, I can't agree with you on the calibre or quality of the writing as it's presented in game; I find it tacky and ham-fisted, and not really compelling at all. It uses far too many overly cliched elements, and a lot of cheap tropes to do the work of proper story-telling.
Most people will agree with you on the score of the player character feeling like a mop; the designers love their OCs very dearly... to the extent that they don't feel like companions at all, and certainly there's no way to justify any of them adopting you as their leader and following your decisions. This is something that we're generally hoping will get improved substantially as the EA progresses. I still cannot really understand why or how anyone could possibly like Shadowheart, to be honest... but many people seem to. Mostly people who know all about her underlying hidden back-story and retroactively assign a great deal of sympathy for her as a result... but from my perspective, that's not what's presented in the game.
You're not wrong about certain game and story elements creating stark narrative dissonance, and a lot of people will agree with you there. It seems problematic to the writing and game design to have a plot that is all about the time-sensitivity of your situation, while gating almost the entirety of the companion's character progression and advancement on Missable sequences that depend on you resting for the night incredibly frequently.
Despite some various disagreements, thoughtful feedback like this, and people taking the time to write it, is always a good thing so appreciation for the effort for that ^.^
