Niara,

Interesting, I don't see the behaviour you describe. Not all of it, anyway.
Originally Posted by Niara
They haven't actually disabled the other character's panels, or turned them into self-contained companions, or anything like that. They've just hacked in a script line that automatically shuts the window again if you open it, and opens the inspection window instead if you try to open one directly. You can still get a look at it in game right now, if you want, and though you can't get it to stay open long enough to change anything, the ability to do so hasn't actually been disabled at all.
I can't get even the slightest glimpse of Shadowheart's Spells panel, no matter how hard I try. Is it because my PC is too fast? I don't think so, the hardware is 4 years old.

Originally Posted by Niara
I can even drag the dividers around on the real hot bar, behind the filter:
[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
The 3 parts of this screen look identical to me, both on your screenshot and in-game. But that might be my eyes.

Also, I can't put anything into their inventories. They don't pick items up, and drag-n-drop on their portraits doesn't work, either. Clutterbar is indeed read-only for them now.

I'm not sure how to explain these discrepancies. Is your version from Steam? Because mine is from GOG.