Just for argument's sake, in the original BG2: - You could not make a full Evil party. - One third of companions are mages, three of them mage/thief - There was no evil male to romance - All romances were restricted by race and sex. [Which, I actually prefer. I dislike the 'everyone is into you' thing. - There was never an ability to change things up; they came as they were and were locked in that class. [as per raw] - They could easily permanently die outside of narrative choices.
So no, I don't think BG3 went backwards in this regard. The characters they added are *way* more interesting [save for, probably, Minsc who is more than likely the exact same]. There are twelve hirelings alone that you can recruit for your building and balancing needs. So with the eight *romancable* story companions, you're on par, or even exceeding here even numbers-wise.
Also, I'd like to point out that, it's pretty likely you can get comfy cosy with NPC's that aren't in your party per se.
Disclaimer:
I seperate the EE's, because... As much as I like the EE's, they came out 15 years or so after the game's release. I find it unfair to include it for reference - as BG3 isn't even out yet, let alone DLC. Also I, and many with me, don't count them as canon but more as fan fiction.
I only count 16 in the original instead of 17, as Sarevok and Yoshimo are temporary. I count them as one.
