I really wanted to like Karlach. She reminded me a lot of the first Dovahkiin I ever made in Skyrim way back. It helped a little to lean into the naivety of her a bit. *In my opinion she judges others from a sort of childish morality meter, but is really blind to herself often doing the same thing. When I view it that way, she becomes a bit more empathetic. Ie, she's not as good or perfect as she thinks she is (which is understandable, and makes her naivety a bit more relatable). Though, not someone I'd enjoy on anything but a really good-aligned playthrough! (Which I never really play that way)
Yeah, good characterization of the character. And I really liked her at first - from the first encounter, when you see the nasty Inquisitor-like characters and already suspect you're going to side with whoever they're after, and how Karlach ends up blowing everything away with her fiery temperament - I thought she'd be one of the best companions at first, which is why I find her character the most disappointing. And I have to take her into the group anyway, simply because no character of mine would ever side with the likes of those who prey on her. Her reaction to Astarion's quest, for example, is subjectively seen as some kind of meltdown. In general, the “good” companions in BG3 - leave a rather unpleasant impression, especially if you remember the spirit of companionship in Pathfinder games (if you make a comparison between Seelah and Amiri and Karlach, or between Sosiel and Wyll). Or the realism of BG2, when yes, the companions could hate each other and how, there were incompatible companions, but no one was forcibly tied to anyone with a prism, and the player's agency was complete. The player could take any side, and the companions behaved realistically, reacting to your words and actions, not toadying, but treating you according to their values and morality. The only plus in this situation is the possibility of an unusual but curious roleplay of a character who, starting out “good” (CG) gradually changes her attitude to the world, becoming CN or NE, and in this case the characters of the companions fit perfectly. But in a “conventionally evil” walkthrough (I never do either “really good” or “totally evil” walkthroughs), when Tav/DU is already starting out as a “knowing life” NE, but not a manic lunatic who would crush a squirrel or rip Gale's arm off the first time they meet, so the whole ‘good’ pack is still going, the perception of “good” companions is consistently held to a not-so-very-high standard.
For Astarion, his little joke about Halsin making "an excellent shield" is one of my favorite lines. The joke itself is, in my opinion, delightfully morbid (using companions as fodder), but the way he sort of braces himself and leans his shoulder in as he says it is just so endearingly dorky. I already though he was clever before, but seeing him be just outright silly made me like him even more!
Oh yes, I was incredibly humored by that joke of his when I heard it!
Maybe there's also a difference in perception between LI and the others, and about jokes too - in my perception Astarion said the joke about “an excellent shield” from Halsin to me personally, to his beloved, it's like between us - when a couple discusses people they know or jokes about them among themselves, it's one thing, but probably if a companion, for whom I'm the leader of the group and not his girlfriend, made such a joke, I'd take such a “revelation” as something endearingly dorky too!
But, even putting personal biases aside, those companions who are not the bearers of some “morality” turned out to be much more attractive and interesting. But I don't really like the idea of separating companions for certain “good” and ‘evil’ playthroughs, as well as the apparent piety towards the “good” ones. For example, when I didn't side with Minthara in the first playthrough and left her dead, then later, after “getting to know” Halsin better and just reading about Minthara, I felt cheated - such “obstacles” to taking a more interesting companion into the group don't seem to me to be justified in any way. Oh, and the “knockout method” seems like a very lazy way out to me - either the metagame or you have to leave not only her but everyone else knocked out. This is despite the fact that we spare the “good” Minsc from Absolute's influence with a prism in the cutscene. Before meeting Minthara, I already know what the prism is capable of. The options for killing good companions are manic and completely out of place for the logical and rational evil Tav. Karlach and Wyll are “oblivious” to the ceremorphosis threatening them and only leave the group if you cut out the entire grove, there is no opportunity to fight with them where it would be warranted by the plot or your choices.
