I agree more is better, but I don't think this should be done at any cost. The most important criticism I have against your argument is that you seem to favour quantity over quality. I prefer 5 good and interesting companions over 10 mercenaries every day.
The companions of bg2 were more than what you say they were imo. Right now I cannot think of a single companion (minsc maybe...?) That didn't have at least one quest associated with them. And moreover, the companions were reactive. They talked about what is happening, your decisions and more. This is big and any additional companion that doesn't do it is a waste of time imo, especially when you can create as many mercenaries as you want in Bg3 if you don't care about story companions.
Like I said initially though, if all that Larian does is to give the option of taking Halsin with you as a companion (and to be fair, I don't think they need to do much more work to make it happen) I wouldn't mind it.
Last edited by Abits; 22/08/21 11:32 AM.
