Quality vs Quantity
I prefer quantity if I had to chose when it comes to companions. I also think a highly fleshed out super-in-depth origin story for every single avaible companion in the game is a mistake because we'll get less of them. Edwin and Minsc are fine, I know who they are and they're extremly likeable. I dont need the Chronicles of Minsc and Dynaheir.
You can apparently choose not to use the origin characters at all and go with a custom PC and use mercenaries who should be more like the BG companions or even make the whole party at character creation yourself.
