The previous Baldur's Gate had 17 companions, we should get at least that many.
I'm coming back for patch 4 after a while away from the game. Has Larian changed their plan to lock companion choices in the party after Act 1? If that's still the plan, I don't know how they'd cram more than 2 or 3 more companions into Act 1.
I'm hoping they eventually have romance specific banters.
Yes, most other RPG's that include romance have very obvious romance go/no-go conversational triggers. It's not just pegged on general approval, so the player feels more in control of the situation. You make the choice, not the NPC. The triggers are impossible to miss. It would need additional voice acting here, so I don't know if that's likely, but I think it would help.