Back in the day, like circa patch 4, the companions would weigh in their approval/disapproval everywhere you went, whether they were in camp or not.
Yes ...
And i liked that.
Quite honestly i dont really care what headcannon will people create for that ... to me its just QoL mechanic, so you know what you did wrong imediately, rather than get several approval/disapproval messages once you get back to your camp.
People talk, and there is not much to talk here than what you did whole day.
Personaly i hate it in games, when companions have no idea what you did if they are not with you at the moment ... it doesnt make any sense. :-/