I think that having some Deadfire style 'sidekicks' would work great for BG3. Even if they've got less meat to them, you can still have some personality and interaction. It would be a decent compromise on top of the origin companions.
As for Darkwood, I think you should be a bit open-minded with regards to Wyll. He had good intentions and wants to get out of the deal. Your paladin could look at it as trying to save the soul of a repentant man who genuinely wants to be a good person. Also you forgot about Gale. He was foolhardy, but I don't think he's done anything really evil.
