Minthara will never be in my party. I will not kill the tieflings for a brainwashed fanatic, so she of course dies. Astarion is another case of oopsies more often than not, because he annoys me so mich. I always promise myself, I keep him around this time, but then the knife to throat scene happens and the biting you while you sleep scene. So yeah, I think it might be hardwired in my brain to kill, leave or give over Astarion to the. Gur. I'm planning to start with all the companions and I'm not actively looking to kill Astarion, but we see, how that goes this time around.
"We are all stories in the end. Just make it a good one."
