After playing through acts 1 and 2, before stopping at early act 3, all I have to say is that I agree. There are many issues with the plot and tadpoles becoming mandatory for the story to work just falls flat on it's face.
It seems like Larian started with the idea of being able to remove tadpoles only to scrap it completely. Tadpoles are pretty much necessary for acts 1 and 2 + endings (from what I read).
You got tadpole? You get easily trusted, even if you wiped out goblin camp.
Companions? Sharing memories through tadpoles. Just... why? Why not detect thoughts or something similar?
Hell, if you want to make it actual choice, make having tadpole important. For example you shouldn’t be able to enter Moonrise tower without tadpole, guards would attack you on sight. Having absolute's brand would require skill check and enemies could use it against you.
Don’t get me started on the Emperor, Orpheus and the rest of act 3.
