I really like the idea of a party made up of friends you meet along the way. In Pillars of Eternity 1 in particular, a good chunk of companions are travelling with you because you're helping them and that eventually just turns into them sticking with you because they want to help and support you. Meanwhile one of the things that really stood out to me about DA2 in subsequent playthroughs is the fact that your party is literally justa group of friends. In both games, you're not really tied together by plot aside from a few instances, and I think that gives a good degree of freedom to the story and cultivates a unique atmosphere.
