Astarion: In EA I thought he was a despicable creature who has no place in a party that doesn't have a death wish. After seeing his story all the way through I got more information why he is so horribly, but it didn't make him any less horrible.

Emperor: A narrative contrivance. I struggle to see him as a character.

Karlach: I have little opinion of her as a character. I think it comes down with lack of interactions you have with companions - and by that I mean talking to people in BG3 doesn't feel like talking to people. That is a problem for a companion who otherwise has very little presence and most of her story is told, rather than shown or interacted with. I find it compelling how doomed she is, but I didn't think it was pulled off well in the game - that is her story is not developing throughout the game until the very end.

Lae'zel: She is easily the one I like the most. While she is aggressive from the get go, her hostility feels justified. Her story ties rather well with the main plot, so her involvement feels natural, and has plenty of opportunities for growth. In a more traditional Bioware game she would be fantastic "out-there" companion. Alas in this band of caricatures she felt like the only relatable character. She is only the one which to me feel authentic, like she belongs in the world. Most of the others feel like amateur cosplayers - which is maybe what they were going for, but it's not something that made me care for them.

Minsc and Jaheira: Eh, they are fine. Didn't spend enough time with them to judge. Minsc because I got him near the end of the game, and Jaheira because shapeshifting requires hotbar rearrengement after every use. They seem like good takes on classic characters.

Minthara: She wasn't available on good path when I played the game, so don't know anything about her.

Shadowheart: I like her less after seeing the story through. I thought Shar's involvement in the story was rather artificial, and for all the grandeur and time her story was given it was really shallow and predictable. It doesn't help that one of the classic BG1&2 characters was a victim of her storyline. It would be fine, if her story was as brief as BG2 stories were. She runs into what I would call a "Dragon Age" problem - a shallow, generic and predictable story stretched over too many conversations and too much of a content.

Wyll: Eh, Wyll. He has potential to be just as good as Lae'zel, with a set up which I think is compelling (a pretender hero), and story beats which tie with main narrative rather well. However, while the 1.0 release greatly improved him in act1, I didn't think his story developed well. I don't think his narrative direction is bad, it just not pulled off particularly well - though that's a common problem with act3.

Gale: He is.... meh? He is always amusing to talk to - a well spoken individual, often hiding his true intentions behind jokes and wit. Not necessarily evil, but also can't be 100% sure of his intentions. Oddly enough, I think that would be enough. His special, world consuming orb somehow made him more boring to me than he should be. An absurd McGuffin which was more distracting than helpful. I think his story was fairly basic and human, and could be done without gods and world endings. As such he ends up being more disposable than he could have been if the stakes were more appropriate to his more personal character growth.

Halsin: Never cared for him in EA, being being romancable I felt he had very little to offer.


So in the nutshell: Laez surprised me in a positive way. The rest is either where I was with them during EA, or disappointed.