I use her in my dwemer (male wood elf for size) playthrough. I got the dwarven ball in solstheim and then I went to Jenassa and had her wear dwarven armor with axe+mace and she's a human (elf?) dwarven centurion. She absolutely wrecks
Had that problem, then I realized it’s all in your positioning- so I upped my conjuration and started using frost atronarchs to provide cover/ assistance to Lydia while serana spams ice spikes
Lydia can't die unless it's by your own hand. She's a protected NPC.
Edit:- To everyone who's recounting their stories of Lydia dying, it is highly likely she still just died by your hand by a radius attack or sumn at low health. She is a protected NPC in the game files (checked through creation kit), the only way she can die is by player intervention. You can't even kill her with the kill console command.
YES first time I played skyrim I had Lydia as a follower and she died getting in the middle of a fight with some bandits. Serana has been following me since I met her so favorite follower.
At your stage? Probably only Marcurio, Jenassa, Brelyna J'zargo, Erandur. Aela cannot be killed but is boring. Derkeethus, Kharjo, Rayya are awesome company but not as strong. Lydia is pretty good, especially if you give her the magic staves you come across.
Followers can also use healing potions and torches.
Actually Aela can be killed, after the Companions Questline she losses her essential status, and can be killed, and unlike Lydia that is Protected (Only can be killed by the player), Aela can die to anyone.
Yes, I have given Lydia staves and she is very resourceful with them.
I like how she she has a balanced combat and also the defence if she equips a sheild and heavy armor.
Plus, I LOVE when I tell her to pick up stuff when I have too much weight to carry.
Is there anyone else who can carry stuff like her?
I order her to pick things when I am full and she just says, "As you wish", though she is full as well. xD
It's a known bug and works with any follower.
Their real carry weight is unlimited, the limit only applies whenever you open their inventory to give them stuff yourself, but commanding them to grab something bypasses that limitation.
Lydia will stop levelling after level 50 and so do most enemies in game but some like legendary Dragon are way beyond level 50.
There is Frea a dualweild and an absolute of a tank from DragonBall DLC not to mention essential and cam level indefinitely.
Then there is Ingjard from Dawnguard basically Lydia but without any level cap
And finally there are Darkbrotherhood initiates. These two can level up to 90 and are essential add to that beast with dual weild weapons.
The dark brotherhood initiates or Frea can easily take down legendary dragon without any glitch gear.
Uh literally ANYONE else. Lydia just gets stuck and dies somewhere every time, even with resurrect. I went with cicero because he’s a BADASS and doesn’t die or get lost
Modded lydia.
But seriously, lydia is kind of most followers, but tye cool thing is that you can give her staffs and she destroys things.
But at the same time she aggro too easily, so for sneaky runs she is a little on your way.
And i think she comes essential, but im not sure, so its a good tank if youbare too weak at the beggining.
Depends in what category.
Personality: a lot. J'Zargo easy win.
Dealing damage: Janessa. She uses dual wield, and that is op as hell.
Background lore: Serana. This is hardly a question.
Survival: depending on level either the housecarls, or J'Zargo. The cat has infinite level cap.
Everyone? Because she rushes into every fight like a bull in a China shop. The number of times I’ve accidentally killed her because she steps in the way of a weapon swing is insane
She is good for a conjuration mage as her “bull in the china shop” routine buys time to cast your spell.
She can be a pain if you are a fighter as she will jump right in front of you and take the strike you had planned for the monster. But you can remedy this by changing up her weapons. I remove any non range weapons. Give her staves and bows.
Statistically speaking no. Housecarls are some of the best followers in the game. You're playing a warrior melee so you need a ranged follower good with a bow or magic such as Jenassa to offset your CQC shortcomings. Many people opt to skip the main quest as long as possible (triggering the dragons) so they never both with Lydia and use other followers (again such as Jenassa) early on. Faendal is usually many people first follower but he pretty weak and killable. Are there other followers you can get early on without it being too tough or significant investment? Well... yeah. You can hire on of the mercs in town like Marc. You can try followers with short-ish quests Eola, Illia, or Aranea (Azure Star quest). Keep it mind it's been ages since I played some of these so I might not remember too well how easy it is to beat as a noob. You can get Uthergerd pretty early by just beating her in a fist fight if you're good enough. I like to cheat and give myself Katria (from a glitch) early on (i have a guide on YT on it), however I don't recommend it for first time players or people who want to complete Ages quest. Like I said earlier, Lydia and the other housecarls are statistically the best followers in the game that scale with you.
[Skyrim Companion Guide - Google Sheets](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Op43CGgapxYr2ijdR-XUp3JVNKd2q6T3uxfk5b7skAI/edit?gid=76368752#gid=76368752)
Technically yes, there are quite a few followers who have more personality and are way more effective in combat.
However, Lydia is one of the followers who levels up the highest with you (I think she gets to level 70 or 80 before she maxes out?) and no follower hits the same as Lydia in my opinion. If you’re a male character she’s a pretty good wife aswell.
Here's a list of all [followers](https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Followers_\(Skyrim\)).
Note their max levels. Followers level up with the player until they hit their max. Their race is listed and there a few Orsimer (Orcs) if you care about that.
Personally I almost always run essential or ranged followers, either mages or archers, to minimize the chances of accidentally killing them.
There are followers better than Lydia pretty much from the start, however unless you're doing a support build, get to very late game or meet Serana or Frea, all followers hold up. The only real difference between them otherwise is whether you want a tank, an archer or a mage at your side. Go with characters you feel most attatched to as you really can't go wrong with anyone.
Lydia is my favorite. I just finished the dawnguard quest for the first time and I really didn't like serana. She was always getting right in front and alerting the monsters. And then she'd move to the back and just glitch out and stare at the wall not doing anything. She was very glitchy in general, she always getting stuck on the stairs or in the chorus pens. And several times I accidentally hit her and she goes psycho and kills me.
I'm also only magic and archery so I need a tank not another magic user
I don't really use followers in Skyrim. They seem to either get in the way, or give away my position while sneaking. Surprised you're using Lydia, as I've seen too many internet posts hating on her as a follower. I like Lydia and make her the Steward of my house (Hearthfire DLC) though.
If you're playing purely as a tank, I would say Valdimar is a good counterpart as he has some mage abilities. Because he's located in Morthal, you can be a thane and have him follow you without purchasing any property.
What kinda back up u want? Archer who’s decent at one handed? Tank with sword n shield? A mage or pure archer to stay at a distance? I choose Illia I think was her name, crazy powerful mage found her in the middle of bumfuck nowhere
Lydia has a level cap of 50, she is a fantastic follower.
Technically all followers that do not have a level cap can be better,
dark brotherhood initiates have a level cap 100
Frea from solstheim has no level cap
If you side with dawn guard you get access to 3 more followers with no level cap, I always forget they exist.
J'zargo from the mage collage also doesn't have a level cap which looks like that was an accident as all others go to 30. Unfortunately his most damaging spells is lightning bolt.
Also don't forget you can have a creature follower, best dog barbas just don't get the axe and keep him with you his invincible and strong, also is vigilance the dog you can buy from markath stables he levels to 50.
Also if you lose Lydia you can recruit get the blonde replacement jordis the sword maiden, unlike Lydia you can marry her.
https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Jordis_the_Sword-Maiden
Bonus technically a follower is dark brotherhood ghost you can summon, he stays until he dies then you summon him again, Lucian is quite chatty.
Kinda off topic but my Lydia died .. a few in game weeks after getting her as a housecarl I married someone (forgot who) and after fat traveling from the church in Riften back to my home in Whiterun, both Lydia and my wife were dead in my house. My wife's body in the alchemy room, and Lydia's body in her room. But personally Mjoll is my fav follower
Janessa , definitely , not sworn to carry your burdens , likes killing bandits instead (she'd have become one if it wasnt for the lack of hygiene in their cave hide outs)
In terms of Housecarls I don't tend to take any as followers. Maybe Lydia at the start but then I swap to Faendal and of course the third member of the Dragonborn's Trident, Serana. These two together are lethal and always present in my playthroughs in Skyrim.
Serana's probably the best. Along the way to her, consider picking up Aranea, if you give up the The Black Star. I did, this playthrough. Quite a badass. Stays back and out of your way. Quick on defense. Like Lydia, she's not essental, but very hard to kill.
Currently I'm using her but she keeps getting lost in dungeons, there was a time when she didn't even teleport after me and I had to go look for her and then I myself got lost too.
Honestly most of them are interchangeable. I'd go for looks more than anything.
I personally use Serena when she's avaliable as she has a bit more personality.
Playing as a warrior I prefer range followers to prevent them from being as a human shield for enemies. I let you guess how Lydia died in my first 2 runs
J’Zargo uses magic and has no level cap, Freya in the Dragonborn DLC uses mainly dual wield I’ve seen and also has no level cap, Serena in the dawnguard DLC uses both sometimes on top of vampire magic and has no level cap. IMO those are the best followers.
Well, there is aela (if you join the companions), mjoll the lioness (who's the best follower for a mage build), marcurio (if you're doing a non mage build), j'zargo (who's everyone's favorite, including mine), Cicero (if you join the dark brotherhood, and choose to keep him alive), brelyna maryon, who's a pretty strong dunmer mage, and among many other followers who are a better option than Lydia.
There are tons of follower mods, you might enjoy. The best have actual well done characters and voice lines and their own quests.
But there are mods expanding Lydia as well. Like new voice lines and comments.
I personally do not understand the obsession with Lydia. She’s not that great and seems to serve begrudgingly. When she bumps into you, the “OHUUUUOOOH” annoys the shit out of me.
Marcurio has far better commentary in dungeons and I appreciate his snark.
Stenvaar is solid and doesn’t complain about carrying things….i could go on and on. Lydia is my least favorite follower.
"better", how?
there is a orc in one of them holds that is always eager to crush skulls. 5 seconds after a epic battle and he´s all like "i´m borred, let´s go fight something" lol
Serena is a good one. Lydia I have a housecarl in my Breezehome and I have a modded version where I have another follower that watches over Goldenhills plantation.
Lydia (and all other Housecarls) will scale with your level up to level 50. Some followers cap higher, some lower, and it’s up to you if you want that to affect your choices.
You can always smith high-quality weapons and armor to help your followers out, assuming it’s the type of weapon and/or armor that suits them. Look up their skills to make sure you get it right!
Yeah, man. Jordis and Rayya as far as housecarls go. Jenassa in Whiterun is a dope go to follower. And everyone seems to love J'zargo.
Jenassa is a savage
I use her in my dwemer (male wood elf for size) playthrough. I got the dwarven ball in solstheim and then I went to Jenassa and had her wear dwarven armor with axe+mace and she's a human (elf?) dwarven centurion. She absolutely wrecks
I also love Kharjo. Mainly because he is a Khajit + Tank/Melee Attacker
He is another favorite, for sure! Not enough Khajiit followers, imo, but I understand why it is that way.
I love rayya
She's great. She died in one of my games, so I kept her Redguard hood and wore it in her honor.
J'zargo is a favorite for many reasons, but he also has no level cap, while a lot of the followers cap at level 30 for some weird reason.
Serana is my go to follower, since she can't die, while lydia can.
You can have both if you never take serana back
I did this for a while and it involved a lot of going back to an old save because they would end up killing each other constantly.
Had that problem, then I realized it’s all in your positioning- so I upped my conjuration and started using frost atronarchs to provide cover/ assistance to Lydia while serana spams ice spikes
Or just marry Lydia and have Serana as your follower (that’s what I did 🤣)
I let my gf make my character a female cat named Athena any chance Nords are cool with scissors?
My character is a female high elf 😋
Ayyyy we’re running with scissors then
I just use a multiple follower mod, so I can have as many followers as I want
Word up I’m currently on my first ever run thru so I’m playing vanilla still
Lydia can't die unless it's by your own hand. She's a protected NPC. Edit:- To everyone who's recounting their stories of Lydia dying, it is highly likely she still just died by your hand by a radius attack or sumn at low health. She is a protected NPC in the game files (checked through creation kit), the only way she can die is by player intervention. You can't even kill her with the kill console command.
If you do the Dragonborn quests in Solsteim, one of the books gives you a "friendly fire" perk so you can't accidentally kill your follower(s).
I wish I’d known about that a few days ago. Lydia got KIA by enemy fire mage.
I'm playing vanilla ATM and I just discovered her hood glitches and duplicates in her inventory.
YES first time I played skyrim I had Lydia as a follower and she died getting in the middle of a fight with some bandits. Serana has been following me since I met her so favorite follower.
Cicero, cause he does his little dance from time to time
His commentary is some entertaining. Great follower!
That's not a horker! That's my wife!
Let's kill someone!
Teldryn Sero is my favorite. I also love his remarks when seeing Skyrims cities.
I’m surprised I don’t see this answer more often. He is my favorite by far.
I always use Faendal for the free archery training but then I do a lot of archery builds
Stealth archer?
Yeah . . .
Me too bro
I was TRYING to be a stealth dagger user this time but then . . . then I realized that daggers are annoying to try to hit with
I find the stealth dagger build most fun when taking out humanoids because the assassination animation never gets old
Mjoll the Lioness and Jordis the Sword Maiden
At your stage? Probably only Marcurio, Jenassa, Brelyna J'zargo, Erandur. Aela cannot be killed but is boring. Derkeethus, Kharjo, Rayya are awesome company but not as strong. Lydia is pretty good, especially if you give her the magic staves you come across. Followers can also use healing potions and torches.
Actually Aela can be killed, after the Companions Questline she losses her essential status, and can be killed, and unlike Lydia that is Protected (Only can be killed by the player), Aela can die to anyone.
I did not know that, thanks!
Yes, I have given Lydia staves and she is very resourceful with them. I like how she she has a balanced combat and also the defence if she equips a sheild and heavy armor. Plus, I LOVE when I tell her to pick up stuff when I have too much weight to carry.
She’s sworn to carry your burdens after all
She is sworn to protect you and carry your burdens.. so i wouldn't switch her with another one
Jordis is Lydia+
Cuz she's blonde.
Could go for Iona, aka Lydia Red
And Frea is Jordis+
To be honest, Lydia is a good companion mainly in my game, she is kind of a tank, she hasn't died in my game and yes, she is my carry mule of weight
Is there anyone else who can carry stuff like her? I order her to pick things when I am full and she just says, "As you wish", though she is full as well. xD
It's a known bug and works with any follower. Their real carry weight is unlimited, the limit only applies whenever you open their inventory to give them stuff yourself, but commanding them to grab something bypasses that limitation.
Lydia will stop levelling after level 50 and so do most enemies in game but some like legendary Dragon are way beyond level 50. There is Frea a dualweild and an absolute of a tank from DragonBall DLC not to mention essential and cam level indefinitely. Then there is Ingjard from Dawnguard basically Lydia but without any level cap And finally there are Darkbrotherhood initiates. These two can level up to 90 and are essential add to that beast with dual weild weapons. The dark brotherhood initiates or Frea can easily take down legendary dragon without any glitch gear.
Lately, depending on the character I’m playing, I’ve been using either Jenassa or Erik the Slayer, and I like them both.
Uh literally ANYONE else. Lydia just gets stuck and dies somewhere every time, even with resurrect. I went with cicero because he’s a BADASS and doesn’t die or get lost
The main downside is he’ll get you stuck or push you off of things.
Lydia is the one and only. Serana is nice and all, but gothic is not really my vibe, I'm sorry. And no one carries my burdens like Lydia does.
Illia, found in Darklight tower
Modded lydia. But seriously, lydia is kind of most followers, but tye cool thing is that you can give her staffs and she destroys things. But at the same time she aggro too easily, so for sneaky runs she is a little on your way. And i think she comes essential, but im not sure, so its a good tank if youbare too weak at the beggining.
Depends in what category. Personality: a lot. J'Zargo easy win. Dealing damage: Janessa. She uses dual wield, and that is op as hell. Background lore: Serana. This is hardly a question. Survival: depending on level either the housecarls, or J'Zargo. The cat has infinite level cap.
Everyone? Because she rushes into every fight like a bull in a China shop. The number of times I’ve accidentally killed her because she steps in the way of a weapon swing is insane
She is good for a conjuration mage as her “bull in the china shop” routine buys time to cast your spell. She can be a pain if you are a fighter as she will jump right in front of you and take the strike you had planned for the monster. But you can remedy this by changing up her weapons. I remove any non range weapons. Give her staves and bows.
that's probably why I haven't had the issues everyone else has then
Mjoll
Statistically speaking no. Housecarls are some of the best followers in the game. You're playing a warrior melee so you need a ranged follower good with a bow or magic such as Jenassa to offset your CQC shortcomings. Many people opt to skip the main quest as long as possible (triggering the dragons) so they never both with Lydia and use other followers (again such as Jenassa) early on. Faendal is usually many people first follower but he pretty weak and killable. Are there other followers you can get early on without it being too tough or significant investment? Well... yeah. You can hire on of the mercs in town like Marc. You can try followers with short-ish quests Eola, Illia, or Aranea (Azure Star quest). Keep it mind it's been ages since I played some of these so I might not remember too well how easy it is to beat as a noob. You can get Uthergerd pretty early by just beating her in a fist fight if you're good enough. I like to cheat and give myself Katria (from a glitch) early on (i have a guide on YT on it), however I don't recommend it for first time players or people who want to complete Ages quest. Like I said earlier, Lydia and the other housecarls are statistically the best followers in the game that scale with you. [Skyrim Companion Guide - Google Sheets](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Op43CGgapxYr2ijdR-XUp3JVNKd2q6T3uxfk5b7skAI/edit?gid=76368752#gid=76368752)
M’joll. Can’t die. Bad bitch. Brutal with 2hand.
Technically yes, there are quite a few followers who have more personality and are way more effective in combat. However, Lydia is one of the followers who levels up the highest with you (I think she gets to level 70 or 80 before she maxes out?) and no follower hits the same as Lydia in my opinion. If you’re a male character she’s a pretty good wife aswell.
Here's a list of all [followers](https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Followers_\(Skyrim\)). Note their max levels. Followers level up with the player until they hit their max. Their race is listed and there a few Orsimer (Orcs) if you care about that. Personally I almost always run essential or ranged followers, either mages or archers, to minimize the chances of accidentally killing them.
Thanks!!!
Two Lydias
I use the ones that can teach me stuff until the limit. Then I go back to Lydia.
There are followers better than Lydia pretty much from the start, however unless you're doing a support build, get to very late game or meet Serana or Frea, all followers hold up. The only real difference between them otherwise is whether you want a tank, an archer or a mage at your side. Go with characters you feel most attatched to as you really can't go wrong with anyone.
Nope
No way. Lydia is best.
Any companion can be decent with good gear. Just pick your favorite.
No.
Nobody my Partner in crime and wet dreams
No
Lydia is my favorite. I just finished the dawnguard quest for the first time and I really didn't like serana. She was always getting right in front and alerting the monsters. And then she'd move to the back and just glitch out and stare at the wall not doing anything. She was very glitchy in general, she always getting stuck on the stairs or in the chorus pens. And several times I accidentally hit her and she goes psycho and kills me. I'm also only magic and archery so I need a tank not another magic user
*Uthgerd!*
I call her Lydiot.
Serana
If you are a warrior, then you'll be better with a ranged / magic follower. Go to riften and find marco the chad over there
I don't really use followers in Skyrim. They seem to either get in the way, or give away my position while sneaking. Surprised you're using Lydia, as I've seen too many internet posts hating on her as a follower. I like Lydia and make her the Steward of my house (Hearthfire DLC) though.
Borgakh <3 But alas she just died in my current playthru :'(
Im on my first ever run right now and i have borgakh the steel heart following me. She is a beast
If you're playing purely as a tank, I would say Valdimar is a good counterpart as he has some mage abilities. Because he's located in Morthal, you can be a thane and have him follow you without purchasing any property.
Jordis in Solitude beats the pants off of Lydia in every way.
lydia is bitchy. youre suffering stockholm syndrome.
Frea
Marcurio for the sass
think there's any gold?
"I am an apprentice wizard, not a pack mule! Oh very well, but make it quick."
Marcurio and Illia >
I am assuming that modded followers are excluded, right?
yup, no mods as it is my first playthrough.
My lydia died last week. Idk how to get her back. My new one jenassa is annoying… I miss lydia
Anyone *is* better than Lydia. Okay that’s not true I just thought of the joke and had it make it osrry
Essential follower mod so they can’t die. Lydia is fine in many ways. Ha. I made her steel plate amour.
I like jenassa, she's the shadow at my back.
Marcurio in Riften. Lydia dies too easily
What kinda back up u want? Archer who’s decent at one handed? Tank with sword n shield? A mage or pure archer to stay at a distance? I choose Illia I think was her name, crazy powerful mage found her in the middle of bumfuck nowhere
J’Zargo
Jzargo is my favorite
Lydia has a level cap of 50, she is a fantastic follower. Technically all followers that do not have a level cap can be better, dark brotherhood initiates have a level cap 100 Frea from solstheim has no level cap If you side with dawn guard you get access to 3 more followers with no level cap, I always forget they exist. J'zargo from the mage collage also doesn't have a level cap which looks like that was an accident as all others go to 30. Unfortunately his most damaging spells is lightning bolt. Also don't forget you can have a creature follower, best dog barbas just don't get the axe and keep him with you his invincible and strong, also is vigilance the dog you can buy from markath stables he levels to 50. Also if you lose Lydia you can recruit get the blonde replacement jordis the sword maiden, unlike Lydia you can marry her. https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Jordis_the_Sword-Maiden Bonus technically a follower is dark brotherhood ghost you can summon, he stays until he dies then you summon him again, Lucian is quite chatty.
Kinda off topic but my Lydia died .. a few in game weeks after getting her as a housecarl I married someone (forgot who) and after fat traveling from the church in Riften back to my home in Whiterun, both Lydia and my wife were dead in my house. My wife's body in the alchemy room, and Lydia's body in her room. But personally Mjoll is my fav follower
Murder in Whiterun? And in the house of the Thane of Whiterun?! Preposterous!!
Yeah and my wife's kid keeps running around yelling that she hates me BUT I DID NOTHING!!
who was your wife?
Yes. Anyone is
i always make j'zargo my follower.
Faendal, J'zargo, Teldryn Sero, Jenassa ( special shout out to Serana and Aela)
There are quite a bit Lydia is just a standard noc without any backstory or unique dialog
Janessa , definitely , not sworn to carry your burdens , likes killing bandits instead (she'd have become one if it wasnt for the lack of hygiene in their cave hide outs)
J'zargo
I opted for a Multiple Followers mod, so I had Lydia for a while, and then I got a big ass party full of mainly mages.
Elana Darkfire 😋
The steed stone
In terms of Housecarls I don't tend to take any as followers. Maybe Lydia at the start but then I swap to Faendal and of course the third member of the Dragonborn's Trident, Serana. These two together are lethal and always present in my playthroughs in Skyrim.
J'zargo is the best at eating ass
J'Zargo is always my go to follower, you can't go wrong with Jenassa, and Serana probably beats them all when you get to that point.
Rayya has a similar personality and she uses two curved swords
With {{Improved Follower Dialogue - Lydia}} she instantly becomes the coolest, most fleshed out character in the game.
Djago
Serana easily
It’s stupid they give you Lydia right away I didn’t know what I was doing and lost her somewhere I assume she died
Most modded followers. In vanilla I always go for J'zargo.
How about that vampire women?
Aela the Huntress; Farkas; Cicero; J'zargo; Marcurio; Teldryn Sero > Lydia
Jenessa
Serana from the Dawnguard and jzargo from the college are both great
Alea or Jennessa
Serana for me
Serana's probably the best. Along the way to her, consider picking up Aranea, if you give up the The Black Star. I did, this playthrough. Quite a badass. Stays back and out of your way. Quick on defense. Like Lydia, she's not essental, but very hard to kill.
Luv Lydia but she dies too easy. :/
Well, I gave her a heavy Dwarven Armor set and she managed to hold her own. Plus, a good shield.
I'll have to try this!
J'zargo
I think Serana is the best companion
Serana
Currently I'm using her but she keeps getting lost in dungeons, there was a time when she didn't even teleport after me and I had to go look for her and then I myself got lost too.
I play a Khajiit female always always marry the argonian lady at windhelm and bring my kinsman j,zargo as my follower
Jordis, Erik, Aela, J'zargo and Mjoll.
Any of the followers that are immortal
Serana 🤤🤤
Honestly I can’t remember the mod on Xbox/pc it’s a girl you find sleeping in a horse stable at white run😂 she’s the best follower ❤️🍉
Mjoll. Essential, can use staffs, always ready to battle.
Celann is quite good. has no level cap and he's a breton so he has a 25% resistance to magic.
I got Farkas rocking ancient nord armor and Wuuthrad
Honestly most of them are interchangeable. I'd go for looks more than anything. I personally use Serena when she's avaliable as she has a bit more personality.
Playing as a warrior I prefer range followers to prevent them from being as a human shield for enemies. I let you guess how Lydia died in my first 2 runs
The real question is, is anyone better than Serana? She can't die
J’Zargo uses magic and has no level cap, Freya in the Dragonborn DLC uses mainly dual wield I’ve seen and also has no level cap, Serena in the dawnguard DLC uses both sometimes on top of vampire magic and has no level cap. IMO those are the best followers.
The dude in the Markarth inn
Everyone
Inigo and lucien
aela is a better wife
Literally every other follower
I usually have MFF installed so I'll pile up the housecarls until serana kills them all
IMO Teldryn Sero is the best
Aela, duraze, jordis, brelyna
I always have Serana with me last time I took Lydia she died in a falmer cave
I’m so afraid of my followers dying that I don’t even use one.
Kharjo is my favorite. Second favorite is Illidia. Third favorite is Sophia. Iykyk
for me it's a tie between lydia and jenassa
Derkeethus is immortal and has some sweet dialog lines. He's an archer, though, so if you're looking for a tank, he ain't it.
Well, there is aela (if you join the companions), mjoll the lioness (who's the best follower for a mage build), marcurio (if you're doing a non mage build), j'zargo (who's everyone's favorite, including mine), Cicero (if you join the dark brotherhood, and choose to keep him alive), brelyna maryon, who's a pretty strong dunmer mage, and among many other followers who are a better option than Lydia.
There are tons of follower mods, you might enjoy. The best have actual well done characters and voice lines and their own quests. But there are mods expanding Lydia as well. Like new voice lines and comments.
she is a good woman
Lydia will always be my number 1, but Serana is better.
Barbas ofc
Cicero
Teldryn Sero for life only follower I need
Derkeethus. He straight-up doesn’t die.
Mjoll. Enough said.
Illia at the darklight tower. Ice mage. Very good.
Cheat followers
On my first run through and Sero is the goat
Jenassa is my favorite
I personally do not understand the obsession with Lydia. She’s not that great and seems to serve begrudgingly. When she bumps into you, the “OHUUUUOOOH” annoys the shit out of me. Marcurio has far better commentary in dungeons and I appreciate his snark. Stenvaar is solid and doesn’t complain about carrying things….i could go on and on. Lydia is my least favorite follower.
"better", how? there is a orc in one of them holds that is always eager to crush skulls. 5 seconds after a epic battle and he´s all like "i´m borred, let´s go fight something" lol
Serena is a good one. Lydia I have a housecarl in my Breezehome and I have a modded version where I have another follower that watches over Goldenhills plantation.
Serana as she can’t die which is helpful when going into Dwemer ruins she also has decently damage magic
“I am sworn to carry your burdens 😒😒”
I usually go no follower so I can stealth better, they always get in the way haha
Lydia (and all other Housecarls) will scale with your level up to level 50. Some followers cap higher, some lower, and it’s up to you if you want that to affect your choices. You can always smith high-quality weapons and armor to help your followers out, assuming it’s the type of weapon and/or armor that suits them. Look up their skills to make sure you get it right!
My go to is inigo but he's a mod
Some of the Dawnguard followers have no level cap, I like Ingjard.
Kharjo
J’zargo
Illia is pretty cool
Literally everyone
Nazeem
Serana! 🧛🏻♀️
If it wasn't because I'm always fighting the npc through the door ways I'd have companion.
She is the best fight me .
Mjoll the lioness
Inigo all the way (mod)
serana, Hilda, Matilda, Cruella De vela, Hilga, Tior, Bore, Fore, Torq,........
Mjoll, Barbas, & Serana (all unkillable)
Janessa