I mean the game still has certain races getting bonuses and reductions to certain stats. I would argue that race-wide negative traits feels way more gamey than simply having characters be deficient in stats because of how they were built as a character. I think all races need to have personality is to be well-written.

Regarding the origins, yes having them become more of a team as time goes on is what should happen. But I worry there's not enough interaction between the companions for that to come across believably. Maybe that's changed in patch 6, but right now they talk to each other so little compared to other games, it makes it hard to feel like there are cohesive group dynamics to build off of and develop.