D&D 2E Leader of Men... 9th level fighters

[Yora]

I think followers become really useful when you're going on long expeditions away from civilization and have to pack provisions for a couple of months. And can't just grab a couple bags of holding from the store and have your cleric conjure food every day.
When you have more stuff than you can carry, you need people to carry it for you, and people to guard the squishy carriers. Which means you need more provisions and it all snowballs quickly.

 

[haakon1]

From my experience, in some campaigns, some of the characters settled down and became rulers. In most cases, the DM and/or players aren’t interested or it peters out before it becomes viable.