His usefulness in combat is really overplayed. The only who's truly irreplaceable is Lae'zel. She's the closest thing to a tank and hits like a truck, while from what little i've seen of him, Astarion may be a bit better than Wyll and SH, but i'd wager homegirl, Gale and any MC could easily overcome anything the EA throws at them regardless of who the 3rd party member is. I know i did, all three times i played through it. And with rogues not being necessary for disarming traps or picking locks it's not like he's needed outside of combat either.
