Hot take: What if Larian decided to focus more on the romance/companion aspects of the game because they never really felt like working with the ruleset will get the best they could offer? Like I know companions were a big thing in BG1 and 2, but still to me BG3 is more of a companion simulator rather than a story driven game. Still, could only be they wanted to transport the tabletop feeling with friends interacting with you into the game more than just acting as a DM.
Either way, Larian decided against a DLC and money, they wanted to move on, wanted to do something by heart and maybe therein lies the explanation why act 3 is worse compared to the act 1. Either it was just a time issue or they never really poured in their heart and soul.
