Personally I have always liked the concept fo the Devoted Defender.
My homebrew has a "Bodyguards Guild" which hires out to the wealthy aristocracy for personal protectin and escorts to gala functions. Not only are they defenders but they are required to be well versed in Local History, Politicals, Art, Music, Religion, and any of the current topics of conversation.
They must also be Charisma 14+. This keeps them solidly in the realm of NPC however I would love to run a campaign based around them.