I'm calling it now that by the end of the game, Astarion will be a good boy and like family to us with a very heartwarming ending. If I'm wrong, feel free to come here in one year and tell me I was wrong
To me the current companions are not below neutral at all. Since the world itself isn't black and white, neither are they. Just shades of gray pretty much and quite likeable. I also personally quite like how Larian does companions because relationships with them do not start nicely. Instead they gradually and naturally grow and blossom into something beautiful, which is why I appreciate it so much. To me it's a reward all of its own and a reason why I adored so much Sebille and Red Prince in DOS2. It was beautiful and magical what they did with them.
