I can't believe we are still discussing gender roles in a fantasy game. Dudeguy is spamming every thread with his agenda and people are discussing an upcoming adventure RPG as if it is a dating sim.
The point of having companions of different races is to get a different insight into another culture. Especially if players only play human and elves, this is important for lore and storytelling. Lae'zel was interesting in that regard, because she gave us background about gith, which became important later. Given how important the Ironhand gnomes are, Barcus should have been a companion too.
This is what I mean: try to include the different races and factions in the companions, to get a full picture.
I don't play a romance game, I play an adventure that can include romance, but where romance shouldn't be the main focus. The romance and sex scenes in BG3 are minor compared to everything else.
Apparently J.R.R Tolkien included four hobbits and a dwarf because of "niche fetishes" and the story would havve been much better and more popular if he had made them elves and humans who fuck instead
