For me it has to be Kar'niss. The actor did such a fantastic job, and the design on him. The way he moves and talks. I think I half smiled through the whole encounter, he is so well made. I wish I could get more of him, especially doing a evil playthrough. He is one of the most unique side character and you can do nothing much with him. And I do not mean in a romance way, I see a lot of people want that (no judgement btw), I mean just a more fleshed out quest. Having him in camp, the final fight etc.
Big agree on Kar'niss. There's quite a lot that could have been done with him despite his condition(s), especially if you go through on a drow. He has such a unique model, amazing voice acting, and yet is so underutilized it feels like a crime.
At least Abdirak served a function and had a unique interaction. ;;
Someone mentioned earlier how he may have been originally planned as a companion, and honestly? That would have been great. I've picked the game back up recently due to needing a GPU replacement on my PC, and having been restarting often due to not knowing what I wanted to play, I've been through Act 1 more than is healthy I think— so I'm being reminded of just how many amazing and interesting side characters there are. Many intrigue me more than the actual companions do, really, and I feel it's because so many of them seem relatively "normal" or more grounded in the world, rather than feeling... 'larger than life', I suppose.
Dammon, of course, is another favorite. He deserves a hug and a smooch, honestly.
I also can't believe no one's mentioned our favorite pets - Scratch and the owlbear! We really should have been able to give the owlbear a name, honestly.
