Concerning Astarion:
There are really a lot of things here that are disturbing.
Of course, the Origin characters are supposed to come across as superior (they are, after all, the main actors in Larian's games, not the player character), but as Niara wrote, it's too much to the detriment of the PC.
I've often thought that in the dialogue with Astarion, you should be able to attack him after he attacks first. For example, if I play a half-orc barbarian, I'm sure he/she won't put up with that, and he's/she's sure to strike first with his/her greataxe before any further dialogue takes place.
And with regard to what Zellin wrote in point 1 General: full agreement.
Particularly noteworthy from my point of view: point 1.4. It doesn't feel like you're travelling in a party in BG 3.
