If I'm reading into it correctly, there seems to be a line that divides playable companions into two groups: The tadpoled ones which are also playable as origin characters, and the rest of them. For the sake of simplicity I'll call them Origin and Non-origin.
Naturally this makes me wonder if Origin companions will enjoy an elevated status in terms of story content, relevance, depth, reactivity and overall sense of importance to the plot. Now of course I'm fully an advocate of everyone playing with whatever companions they most enjoy regardless of how integral they are to the story. After all the point is to have fun, whether you prefer Shadowheart and her intriguing artefact or a silent and non-judgemental mercenary. That said, I suppose the goal of this thread is to ponder the question: "If I enjoy an Origin and an Non-origin companion equally much and can't decide which to take, will I get more out of the Origin?"
Origin companions seem to have a lot more going for them. Without going into spoiler territory, their tadpoles and dream visits indicate that their ties to the main storyline are very strong. Each of them also has an overarching personal goal, as well as scenes and dialogue options only accessible when choosing them as your main character. I believe Sven himself said that playing through an Origin character's story after you've already experienced them as a companion will provide much more insight into their behaviour. All of this implies that Origin companions will have a lot of depth and even if we see their actions from a 3rd person perspective, we can assume there's more complexity behind the scenes.
So far this doesn't seem to be the case for Non-origin companions. They get no special powers, dream visits or additional recognition. At this time it's probably early to speak of their goals, but from what we know so far,
Halsin's and Jaheira's only goal seems to be to destroy the cult of the Absolute and hopefully help you get rid of your tadpole, Minthara's the opposite and I'm not expecting Minsc to have a 'goal' that goes beyond kicking the butt of whatever evil passes him by.
In conclusion it seems to me that playing with Origin companions will make for a more involved playthrough, while Non-origin companions are to be seen more as likeable sidekicks rather than fully realized companions. I like the Non-origin characters we've seen so far and I'd love to be wrong. Is my impression right or not, or is it too early to tell?
