Though I have noticed, in some cases, that Gale can make jumps he can't normally make in 'follow mode'.
This is a strange chapter in itself. All my custom chars basically have a strength of 12, but my female char often still can't jump as far as the other male chars in my party, BUT then when I jump ahead with the other chars, she can suddenly jump after them....
In the case of Gale with his strength of 8. He has a shorter jumping distance than Lae'zel, but it would be annoying to stop every time because someone can't find the right way to jump in this case and follow the other chars. It seems like a kind of intentional peer pressure for the pathing?