Each and every char explains fully why they follow the warden in DAO when you meet them. They all have a major stake in following the last warden, including Alistair who is grieving over Duncan and totally lost and rather immature.

Agree with post above about Hawke.

Also, in DAI, you are the Herald of Andraste after Haven. You are basically the messiah and a figurehead upon which the Inquisition builds legitimacy.

Shepherd in the ME series is also fully fleshed out as the leader.

One can say many harsh things about Bioware…but they knew how to create believable companion chars and party dynamics that made internal sense.

Also…consider the intros to all of those companions and how you went about recruiting them. Hell, you had to clear out a whole mage tower to get Wynne in DAO. The only interesting intro in this game was LaZael. Everyone else you just stumble upon near the ship. Karlach was ok tho…excited to meet back up with her in Baldurs Gate.