DeviousQuail
Hero
My two cents: It's tough to get on board with Vivienne when you have Solas, Dorian, and potentially your MC all competing in the same space. We've had an elven mage before but your first introduction paints Solas as someone who knows more than they're letting on. He's also there immediately so you can become anchored to him as your mage. Dorian comes later but is unique in that he's a Tevinter mage so his pov is pretty unique across the entire series. The main quest with him is also better than Cole's so I choose it every time. Vivienne reminds me of many of the mages we've already met through the series with an Orlaisian coat of paint. Not bad, but she's got tough competition.I didn't, it was too long ago, and I don't think anyone liked the character! But I recognised Indira, so I looked up her CV.
Having so many potential companions is cool but once I find three that I like I will use them almost all of the time. I wish games like this had a thinning of the herd moment in them. Give me options, let me try some different combos, but eventually force a choice and let the others die/leave/become npcs. For DAO it could be after Lothering or completing the first major ally quest (some characters would need an earlier intro but that's not hard), DA2 could do it sometime before heading underground, and in Inquisition anyone you don't pick during the defense of Haven could die or be taken prisoner. I feel the same way about any game that gives you a stable of companions that sit around doing nothing while me and my besties save the day.