It's a bold decision, if Larian goes that way, no doubt. Still. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of locking the party in regards to origin characters. Commitment. Feels nice.
That's not to say that I think it's bad to have more party members.
Here's what I'd like to see:
A few of the origin characters stick around. The others run off to do things that need taking care of, and probably come back later in helpful or harmful roles, depending.
Which leaves the main character plus three other origin characters.
On top of that, I'd like the game to allow for more companions, albeit ones without tadpoles. Just regular folk that can be recruited. Followers, cultists, mercenaries, whatever.
Almost the same. It would be great to realize that one of your former companions is now an enemy in one form or another.
However... there must be a reserve option in case some of the members of your chosen group falter. Replacing them with a self-made character without a backstory is probably the worst alternative (one I would use if absolutely that's the only way to save a campaign). This can be avoided if there are reserves: companions with a personality you've met on the road, even a reserve origin companion.
P.S. Alternatively, they might thin the group by people leaving/dropping out at certain chapters/ story moments.
