I think the best thing they could do would be to lean into. Act 1 serves as a near perfect recruiting ground test case. We've all played it to death, and there are strong calls coming from all quarters about which NPCs players would love to have tagging along.
To me this would be more engaging than a Merc system (though that would still be nice for Custom companions that have no real story in, beyond the players imagination.) The Origins are fine, I will come around completely for that concept of one of the Fab 5 as an MC, for players who are new and just trying to get a feel, or if they have some special attachment or simply want to see how that plays. But the real trick is to allow NPC recruitment into the party.
Seriously, everyone at this point should all be viable. Why not? Just try it. They should each have motivations and a personal price to be paid (not necessarily in coin, but maybe that too.) To persuade them to tag along. Any named character we've seen in EA. How hard would it be? Gather the metrics, who was chosen, what happened then? So many possibilities. Practically infinite.
It would be so much fun. Just convince someone to join and try them. If they die no biggie, try to recruit someone else. Unless they're really specifically not a possible potential adventurer, like the kids or merchants say, but just about everyone else.Not just for the villains but everyone. Want to try the game with some B team Druid from the grove roll for Persuasion or whatever, and try to persuade them it's their duty to drop everything and join this quest right now!!! And then they hop on the team.
Such a blast, Million dollar concept for you right there lol. Watch your whole player base cry out in pure joy, as Larian tried to do something super cool that really has never been done yet. And it would be goofy and comedic on so many levels at the same time. An absolute perfect fit for the game in its current EA states.
How many Barks does a temp companion truly need? 1? Maybe some generic sounds based on gender, like grunts or Curb your enthusiasms. They could do! They totally could.
