Also, isn't the "ghost chain" idea just exactly what final fantasy rpgs have been doing for ages?
Nope.
The origin of that system, I believe are later (post Baldurs gate) BioWare RPGs like KOTOR of more importantly DragonAge.
What Larian missed that with limited controls also came limited interactions. There was little to no reason to split or switch control in those games. That said, I remember even traps in Dragon Age Origin were a pain, with stupid companion triggering traps you were trying to disarm.
"Separate all" shortcut welt a long way on making the system more manageable as I don't have to struggle with chaining system anymore.
Worryingly Wasteland3 more or less copied Larian"s "single character control, all others follow" system, albeit with better character selection. Plenty of issues have been transferred over, including characters lagging behind, or tripping over traps.
