Regarding companion count in BG3 - 8 companions in a Baldur's Gate game is quite ridiculous. As I've said before, the ideal scenario would be 12 high-content companions (origin or not) with at least BG2 level of "richness" and another 12 companions that have less content to them (between BG1 and BG2 level) for good variety. 12 because one per class, and it divides nicely in 3 so you can have even alignment split. Of course it's completely unrealistic, it'll probably end with those 8 origins and that's it. Unless you count generic mercenaries.
I'm usually of the opinion that quality>quantity, but BG3 took it to ridiculous levels by greatly reducing companion choice, in a series that's known for good companion variety. And I'm not too certain about the "quality" of current companions anyway.
Strongly disagree with this because for all practical purposes, greater width ALWAYS comes at the cost of lesser depth. If I want width, I'll play another Bethesda sandbox. The majority of players likely won't even complete one playthrough, let alone dedicate 100s of hours to extract every nuance, so I'd rather have additional content that can be enjoyed on my single playthrough (if I even make it that far). I really dislike the dogmatic "Noah's Ark"-tokenism where all classes, races and alignments ideally MUST be represented. Beyond allowing for a balanced team with preferably a single "backup" for every basic party role, having characters with opposing ethos and conflicting personalities makes for MUCH more interesting roleplaying opportunities than "mechanical designer parties".
That said, it makes particular sense in BG3 to differentiate between full *ORIGIN* companions that share the same urgent PERSONAL motivation to risk teaming up with a party that might turn into brain-sucking monsters overnight, that include a blood-sucking monster, a ticking time-bomb, an alien racial supremacist, acolytes of evil etc., and time-limited companions that join to accomplish specific goals. Having a smaller, deeper and more dynamic cast is more realistic too.
