Erik the Slayer. Moral: Will commit crime. Demeanor: Aggressive. And finally, the best. Marked as unessential (if applicable) Can be follower. Aela the Huntress. End of 'Glory of the Dead.' Alik'r Prisoner. Essential followers: Aela, Vilkas, Farkas, DB followers. J'zargo as one of few that has no level cap & is essential. Other one like him, i think, is Serana, but for her you need Dawnguard DLC. At your level, going through dwemer dungs should not be a problem. Detailed documentation with help and examples for the setessential command in Skyrim on Steam (PC / Mac). This command can be used to change the essential status of an NPC (a specified base ID, not your target or a reference ID). An essential NPC is (by default) an NPC that is 'essential' to the game - e.g. An NPC necessary for a quest.
Generally speaking, Cicero, Frea, Mjoll and Serana are the essential followers with good stats to offer, but Frea and Serana will require DLC. But ultimately, the choice of the best companion will depend on your play style, and your personal preferences, of course.
Top 10 Best Followers in Skyrim
10. Celann
He is Breton with magic resistance; a great warrior-type companion with indefinite leveling and armor perks, who does 1.5 extra damage, and liberally uses high quality bows. By the way, there is the Bound Bow Guide for you.
9. Inigo
Inigo is a fully voiced khajiit follower with a fun but short quest. He talks about the places you visit, nicely blends into the vanilla game, has great voice acting, and is very customizable. But you can get him only through a mod.
8. Ralis Sedarys
A miner from Ahzidal’s quest, who has the most destructive melee abilities in the game.
He dual wields anything you give him, has dual flurry (for fast attack) and Extra damage 2 perks, which doubles his overall damage.
He has some magic perks but no spells, but they say he can use the two spells from Ahzidal’s ring when equipped. By the way, this ring is quite useful, because with it you can bring the Ignite spell up to 13000 damage! Find out more in the post about the best destruction spells in Skyrim.
7. Aela the Huntress
She is strong and good looking, a well-balanced character, who can give you her blood to make you a werewolf.
Aela offers a great support with the ranged attacks, as well as in a melee combat due to the decent skill with one-handed weapons. Her max level is 50, but the sneak skill can reach up to 97, turning her into an efficient stealthy archer. And while having her around, you can get the on-the-go archery training.
6. Mjoll the Lioness
A versatile companion, who handles both one-handed and two-handed weapons, and can even use staves. She has high health and attack, and lots of space in the inventory.
Mjoll is a tank character with level cap 40, who can effectively distract enemies, giving Dragonborn some room for action. Give her some nice two-handed sword and a good heavy armor, and she will take on everyone in the vicinity.
She goes straight into the battle, taking all the damage for you; give her good enchanted weapons and armor, and she becomes unstoppable. You can get Mjoll as a follower at the level 14 or 16.
She will fill your ears with interesting stories, and can become one of the best wives in Skyrim as well.
5. J’zargo
He is one of the two khajiit’s in Skyrim, and being a mage, he’s very strong in destruction. You can give him some heavy armor, and he’ll become one of the strongest followers in the game – especially useful if you stuck on a quest.
Some people do not recommend taking him due to the lowest spell levels among all the mage followers. Yet, there is a workaround: just give him very high staffs, and he will make double fireball blasters; another benefit from it is that he will keep the distance in a battle, without rushing into the front line.
His One-Handed and Heavy Armor skills max out around level 50, turning him into a strong battle mage.
4. Teldryn Sero
He is one of the best spellsword-type characters, and is highly skilled in destruction, light armor and one-handed weapon (where he has a few ranks of Armsman, so his one-handed damage is much greater than most).
He can cast firebolt from afar and can conjure a flame atronarch to aid in the battle (actually it is the first thing he does in the combat). When the enemies get closer, he whacks them with an ebony sword. He keeps his distance, stays out of your way, and has level cap 60.
List Of Followers In Skyrim
It’s interesting that his chitin armor, as he says, was especially made for him by Grendis Rolovo, one of the best armor smiths in Morrowind.
You can hire him for 500 gold at The Retching Netch, in Raven Rock.
3. Cicero
He is an assassin with level cap 50, and his best skills are stabbing and sneaking, so he won’t set off every trap on your way.
To get him as a follower, you need to join the Dark Brotherhood and complete their whole questline.
By the way, Dark Brotherhood Initiates have the same stats as Cicero, and can level up indefinitely, but they don’t shoot arrows.
2. Frea
She cast restoration and alteration spells, wears heavy armor, won’t trigger the traps on her way, and has no level cap. She is rare dual wielder, but lacks the useful ranged attack skills, such as archery or destruction.
So, Frea is almost the best follower in Skyrim, with the exception of the fact, that you need the Dragonborn DLC for her. And until you complete the Dragonborn main quest, she won’t be able to become your permanent follower, which means you will get her only when you reach level 20 or so (this is where you can realistically finish the main quest).
Well, actually, you can finish the first two quests in the main quest line (Dragonborn and Temple of Miraak), and before proceeding to the Path of Knowledge (which is the next quest), talk to her, pass a speech check, and this way you can get her as a follower. Then you can return to the main quest (if you want to).
Note: when you make Frea follow you before completing the Dragonborn quest, she may leave you after Nchardak – this is a bug in the game, and to avoid this, you need to dismiss her at the end of Nchardak, but before you read the Black Book. Then, once you come back from Apocrypha, take her again.
Another point to mention is that Frea does not want to change her default amulet for most amulets you give her.
1. Serana
Her level cap is 50, and she’s good at sneak, conjuration and destruction. She constantly learns new spells, has a good starting gear, deals with the enemies from a distance, and can bring to life the last one she just killed. She is probably the best mage-type follower, and being essential, cannot be killed.
The problem is that she doesn’t put much thought into what she resurrects, so expect some useless ally in fighting your dragon.
The interesting thing is that Serana is the only character in Skyrim, who uses all the animation activators: she prays with the priests, mines in the mines, smiths at the forges, etc, which is quite cool and fun. You can achieve the same for other followers using the AFT mod (Amazing Follower Tweaks).
She can bite you turning into a vampire lord; and make your arrows stronger, if you play as an archer.
You will find Serana in the Fort Dawnguard, but the Dawnguard DLC is required. And be aware that she will probably start leaving too many ash piles behind, in case you prefer to keep your Skyrim clean. 🙂
Some Tips
The followers with no level cap are Frea, J’zargo, Celann, Ingjard and Durak, so they will have the same level you are. J’zargo is the only companion with no level cap you can have without installing any DLC, but since he is not an essential character, he can die during a battle.
If you play on PC, and lost your follower, use this console command to retrieve him or her: prid 0001C1A2 moveto player (Use the character’s RefID in it, not BaseID). But just in case, keep in mind that it may sometimes remove everything you made him carry from his inventory.
Well, of course, this list of Skyrim best followers is not all inclusive, and there are other good characters you are encouraged to try; but if you are just starting out and want someone reliable, this list is to help you.
Best Armor Enchantments for Followers in Skyrim
Do enchantments work on followers?
Before you even think about enchanting the follower’s armor, please, check this list of the enchantment effects that work on followers.
Now, this simple solution is probably Fortify Health and Resist Magic. If you have a mage follower, Magicka Regeneration can be handy, and Fortify Stamina as well. Fortify Health Regeneration only works during recovery phase, when your companion is out of combat.
Muffled can be also good if you want your follower to be less detectable.
If you have dual enchanting, you can do this:
Head armor: you can use Magicka Regen, or give your companion some nice protection with magic abilities, such as Helm of Ingol, Rahgot, Otar, Ancient Helm of the Unburned, or any other helmet that provides health or stamina regeneration, or have some kind of resistance.
Body: if your follower is of a warrior type, you can improve their armor skill, if needed, or you can invest in health or stamina.
Gloves and Jewelry: normally it can be Magicka Regen or Resistance, Health or just some relevant armor skill.
Boots: you can use dual resistance here, like fire and shock, but the choice is up to you. (source)
What about carry weight?
If you ask your follower to pick up anything instead of trading, they will have almost no weight limit – you can use it to your advantage when visiting some loot heavy areas like Dwemer ruins.
Can a companion use an enchanted item?
Yes, followers can use enchanted items, and some items fit better to a particular follower. For example, for Farkus, heavy armor is better rather than light. But keep in mind the list linked to above.
Follower Weapon Enchantments
Followers can use enchanted weapons; if your follower has a weapon with soul trap, they can fill the soul gems if they have them. But the weapon itself has to be manually recharged by you.
But if you give your follower a bow, give them only one arrow, as they seem to have unlimited arrows somehow.
On reddit one user mentioned that they gave their follower Auriel’s Shield and she was able to Fus Ro Bash people.
Keep in mind, that 100% cost reduction won’t work on your follower.
By the way, there is an easy way to fill your soul gems: give your follower with a soul trap weapon, a stack of soul gems (more than 8), and when they kill something, your whole stack will be filled. It’s best to give them a bow or a melee weapon for this purpose.
Your companions can benefit from using the enchanted weapons, for example, if you give them a sword with health absorb, it will absorb 5 points of health for them (as in the case with Aela, for example). (source)
Skyrim List Of Essential Followers
Related posts:
With the Hearthfire add-on, certain followers can be hired to become a personal steward upon purchase and construction of any of three new houses:
- Heljarchen Hall in the Pale
- Lakeview Manor in Falkreath Hold
- Windstad Manor in Hjaalmarch
To hire a follower, simply ask them to come with you, then travel to the build site. They should approach you and volunteer for the job, or if not, you can ask them yourself once there. You will need to first build at least the Small House Layout before the option to hire them appears. Your steward will patrol the exterior of your property, as well as use various items in and around your house. Once a steward has been chosen for a particular homestead, the choice is permanent; you cannot replace that steward with someone else later.
- 1Commands
- 2Followers Who Can Become Stewards
- 2.1Skyrim
Commands[edit]
Improvements[edit]
You can ask them to make improvements to the house, which will allow you several options:
- Hire a carriage driver for 500 gold
- Hire a bard for 1500 gold
- Purchase a horse for 1000 gold (if you have built the exterior Stable option)
- Purchase a cow for 200 gold (if you have built the exterior Animal Pen option)
- Your cow will provide jugs of milk over time in the cupboard closest to the butter churn, in your kitchen if you have built it.
- Purchase up to three chickens for 25 gold (if you have built the exterior Animal Pen option)
- Your chicken(s) will have a nest where you will be provided with chicken's eggs.
- There is little advantage, other than completeness, to purchasing more than one chicken—you only get one nest even with three of them.
Building Materials[edit]
You can ask your steward to purchase building materials for you:
- Lumber: 20 for 200 gold
- Stone: 20 for 100 gold
- Clay: 20 for 20 gold
Furnish a Room[edit]
You can ask your steward to purchase furnishing options for the house. When you ask a steward to decorate part of your home for you, they will not do so immediately. They will gradually add furnishing options over time, which can be a very slow process. This is one way to avoid the chore of collecting all the required materials yourself, though you'll miss out on all the Smithing experience you'd gain from crafting thousands of nails and iron fittings. If you have them decorate a section of your home, they will eventually add all possible furnishing options to that section of the home; if you prefer not to have certain furnishing options added, you should build furnishing options for that section of the home yourself. The costs of each section of the home are as follows:
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|
|
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Note that the cost for each section will be the same, regardless of how much of the furnishings you have already built yourself.
If you don't have the patience to wait for your steward to furnish, see the notes section at the bottom of the page how to make them work faster.
Other[edit]
You can also ask your steward where to buy materials such as glass or straw. They will direct you to a nearby general goods store: Belethor's General Goods in Whiterun (from Heljarchen Hall), Gray Pine Goods in Falkreath (from Lakeview Manor), or Bits and Pieces in Solitude (from Windstad Manor).
Followers Who Can Become Stewards[edit]
Skyrim[edit]
| Name | Type | Gender | Race | Description | Prerequisite Quest | Max Level | Moral | Marry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaisa Vendicci | Misc. | Female | Imperial | A worker of the East Empire Company. | Rise in the East | 25 | 3 | |
| Aela the Huntress | Companion | Female | Nord | A thief and expert Archery trainer. | Glory of the Dead | 50 | 3 | |
| Annekke Crag-Jumper | Misc. | Female | Nord | A ranger found in Darkwater Crossing. | Kill the Bandit Leader† (radiant) | 30 | 3 | |
| Belrand | Hireling | Male | Nord | A spellsword found in the Winking Skeever in Solitude. | None | 40 | 0 | |
| Brelyna Maryon | College | Female | Dunmer | A mystic. | Brelyna's Practice | 30 | 0 | |
| Calder | Housecarl | Male | Nord | A warrior (1H) found in Windhelm. | Become Thane of Eastmarch | 50 | 0 | |
| Erik the Slayer | Hireling | Male | Nord | A barbarian found in Rorikstead at the Frostfruit Inn after completing his quest. | Erik the Slayer | 40 | 0 | |
| Eola | Misc. | Female | Breton | A nightblade found in Markarth's Hall of the Dead. | Obtain the Ring of Namira in The Taste of Death. | 30 | 0 | |
| Faendal | Misc. | Male | Bosmer | A thief found in Riverwood. He is a common Archery trainer. | A Lovely Letter (in his favor) | 30 | 3 | |
| Ghorbash the Iron Hand | Misc. | Male | Orc | A ranger found in Dushnikh Yal. | Convince him (via brawl, persuade check, or bribe). | 30 | 3 | |
| Golldir | Dungeon | Male | Nord | A warrior (1H) found in Hillgrund's Tomb. | Ancestral Worship | 30 | 3 | |
| Illia | Dungeon | Female | Imperial | An elemental mage found in Darklight Tower. | Repentance | 40 | 3 | |
| Iona | Housecarl | Female | Nord | A warrior (1H) found in Riften. | Become Thane of the Rift | 50 | 0 | |
| Jordis the Sword-Maiden | Housecarl | Female | Nord | A warrior (1H) found in Solitude. | Become Thane of Haafingar | 50 | 0 | |
| Lob | Misc. | Male | Orc | A ranger found in Largashbur. | The Cursed Tribe | 30 | 3 | |
| Lydia | Housecarl | Female | Nord | A warrior (1H) found in Whiterun. | Dragon Rising | 50 | 0 | |
| Marcurio | Hireling | Male | Imperial | A destruction mage found at The Bee and Barb in Riften. | None | 40 | 0 | |
| Njada Stonearm | Companion | Female | Nord | A warrior (1H) and expert Block trainer. | Glory of the Dead | 25 | 3 | |
| Ogol | Misc. | Male | Orc | A warrior found in Largashbur. | The Cursed Tribe | 30 | 3 | |
| Onmund | College | Male | Nord | A sorcerer. | Onmund's Request | 30 | 0 | |
| Ria | Companion | Female | Imperial | A warrior (1H). | Glory of the Dead | 25 | 3 | |
| Roggi Knot-Beard | Misc. | Male | Nord | A miner found in Kynesgrove. | Dungeon Delving (Caves)† | 20 | 3 | |
| Sven | Misc. | Male | Nord | A bard found in Riverwood. | A Lovely Letter (in his favor) | 20 | 2 | |
| Uthgerd the Unbroken | Misc. | Female | Nord | A warrior (1H) found in The Bannered Mare in Whiterun. | Fight! Fight! | 30 | 3 | |
| Vilkas | Companion | Male | Nord | A warrior (2H) and master Two-handed trainer. | Glory of the Dead | 50 | 3 |
Notes[edit]
- Mjoll the Lioness has the dialogue options to become a steward in the Creation Kit but the options do not actually appear in game.
- All followers who can become stewards can also join the Blades.
Dawnguard Followers[edit]
These NPCs are added by the Dawnguard add-on. If you become infected with vampirism, after having appointed one of the Dawnguard as your steward, you must cure yourself before they will speak with you again, thus making them useless as a steward until you are cured.
| Name | Gender | Race | Description | Max Level | Moral | Marry | Blades |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agmaer | Male | Nord | A member of the Dawnguard found in Fort Dawnguard. (Bandit class) | 25 | 0 | ||
| Beleval | Female | Bosmer | A member of the Dawnguard found in Fort Dawnguard. (Bandit class) | 25 | 0 | ||
| Celann | Male | Breton | A member of the Dawnguard found in Fort Dawnguard. (Warrior (1H) class) | None | 3 | ||
| Durak | Male | Orc | A member of the Dawnguard found in Fort Dawnguard. (Ranger class) | None | 3 | ||
| Ingjard | Female | Nord | A member of the Dawnguard found in Fort Dawnguard. (Warrior (2H) class) | None | 3 |
Hearthfire Followers[edit]
These NPCs are added by the Hearthfire add-on. All Hearthfire followers are housecarls.
| Name | Gender | Race | Description | Prerequisite Quest | Max Level | Moral | Marry | Blades |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gregor | Male | Nord | A warrior (1H) found in Dawnstar. | Become Thane of the Pale | 50 | 0 | ||
| Rayya | Female | Redguard | A warrior (1H) found in Falkreath. | Become Thane of Falkreath | 50 | 0 | ||
| Valdimar | Male | Nord | A sorcerer found in Morthal. | Become Thane of Hjaalmarch | 50 | 0 |
Dragonborn Followers[edit]
This NPC is added by the Dragonborn add-on.
| Name | Gender | Race | Description | Prerequisite Quest | Level | Moral | Marry | Blades |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talvas Fathryon | Male | Dunmer | A conjurer living in Tel Mithryn. | From the Ashes | 25 | 3 |
Notes[edit]
- The amount of time it takes for stewards to furnish your house depends on the number of times you leave the area. The fastest way to complete the process is to find the border of your property and cross it repeatedly until the furnishing is done (PC players can quickly find the border using the
tbconsole command). There are several areas where this can be performed, including:
- Lakeview Manor: Go South from your entrance door. After the carriage driver and just before the small pond next to Pinewatch are two large trees growing next to the rocks on your right. The border is between the trees.
- Windstad Manor: Go straight east from your entrance door, up the hill. The border is between the two trees growing next to the rocks on your left. (There is a third tree on your right.)
- Heljarchen Hall: Go straight south towards Loreius`s farm and pass your stable and carriage driver. Where the rocks on your right end are two blue mountain flowers. One of them is growing next to a dead branch. The border is between the two flowers.
- Stewards who are Blades will stay at the house that they are steward of, and not go back to Sky Haven Temple.
- There is no option for Stewards to furnish your cellar.
- If you want to dismiss a steward, you can do so using the console.
- Dismiss the steward of Lakeview Manor in Falkreath Hold:
SetConsoleScopeQuest BYOHHouseBuilding
EmptyRefAlias House1Steward
SetPapyrusQuestVar BYOHHouseFalkreath bHaveSteward False - Dismiss the steward of Windstad Manor in Hjaalmarch:
SetConsoleScopeQuest BYOHHouseBuilding
EmptyRefAlias House2Steward
SetPapyrusQuestVar BYOHHouseHjaalmarch bHaveSteward False - Dismiss the steward of Heljarchen Hall in the Pale:
SetConsoleScopeQuest BYOHHouseBuilding
EmptyRefAlias House3Steward
SetPapyrusQuestVar BYOHHousePale bHaveSteward False - If you put these commands into a bat file, then the EmptyRefAlias will fail, but the other 2 will work, allowing you to appoint a new steward at that holding, but your old steward will still have steward dialogue.
- Dismiss the steward of Lakeview Manor in Falkreath Hold:
Bugs[edit]
- Personal stewards may vanish after being appointed.
- This bug is fixed by version 1.0.3 of the Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.
- Entering and exiting the house a few times should restore them.
- Personal stewards may tell you that you don't have enough gold when you attempt to furnish rooms, even when you do. This is usually caused by furnishing a room before asking the steward to do it.
- This bug is fixed by version 1.0.3 of the Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.
- Personal stewards may not sleep at all and instead just stand next to the bed.
- This bug is fixed by version 2.0.2 of the Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.
- Upon arrival at the house hirelings may offer to be a steward but may not have the normal steward dialogue and instead offer to go adventuring for free or a price depending on the mercenary. They will, however, wander off and do things on the property like any other steward. Waiting at least 24 hours after dismissing refreshes the dialogue that allows you to hire them again. At that point they will have normal steward options.
- This bug is fixed by version 2.0.3 of the Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.
- On some occasions, particularly when hiring a bard is the only option left, the option of making upgrades for the home will be absent.
- This bug is fixed by version 1.1.2 of the Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.
- Killing your cow and triggering a load screen (entering the house) may trigger the dialogue for home improvements with your steward. Not selecting hiring a bard first will cause the option to disappear again.
- After furnishing a room by using a steward, the furnishings may not actually appear.
- Whenever hirelings are subsequently 'hired' for adventuring, they will lose their steward dialogue upon being released from service.
- This bug is fixed by version 2.0.3 of the Unofficial Hearthfire Patch.
- Followers may not give the option to become stewards if Dragonborn is enabled.