My MC locks in conversation with a character. That character now faces away from his own goods, or a door he's supposed to be guarding or whatever. I switch to Astarion and sneak. Because said character locked in dialogue or combat or whatever is no longer facing in that certain direction...
This is something a lot of players really like. I'm sorry you don't enjoy it, but unfortunately changing it would disappoint others who do.
Some people screech about "bad design" like it's an engineered bridge that can't carry a load of cars and will inevitably collapse. But that's a fundamental misunderstanding based on a singular and narrow point of view. It's not how it works. The truth is: Some people like it. Some people don't. Everyone can't be pleased by everything.
It's not a broken design or a flaw. It's a feature of the game. Luckily, for players who don't like this feature, most of these examples can be avoided in play. For example, the game doesn't require anyone to talk to an NPC before sneaking. That's not a prerequisite of progressing the story.
