OP, you mentioned earlier that it's important to you to be able to care about the characters. I think I can say with confidence that you most likely will.
I'm sure browsing the forums you've seen any number of discussions of aspects of the companions. Everybody's opinion of which companions they prefer and for what reason differ of course, but the only "the companions are all terribly written" takes I've seen have come from folks who aren't actually playing in EA.
