After thinking about it some more it's really hard for me to understand where all these predictions are coming from. When I look at Bg3 it seems like it follows the exact same design philosophy Larian used in DOS2 when it comes to companions and NPCs.
You have a list of companions you can recruit very early on, because they are all also origin characters which means Larian's writers are very limited in constructing the circumstances of their recruitment. They can't give you someone like Jolee, a companion you can only recruit at a remote location mid to late game because all the companions should also be able to be the MC.
As for Halsin and Volo - they also seem to follow the Malady troupe of giving you some support NPCs that will follow you around but mostly will be on your base (in dos2 case the ship).
You can be extremely optimistic if you wish, but know that right now this optimism has no reall indication of being possible, unless Larian will decide to completely change their plans, which is possible but I'm not sure it is the best choice anymore
