Retainers as companion

[Enkidoh]

The trouble is, Retainers were never designed for such a function and were originally meant to be nothing more than a shop front on the Market (both in 1.0 and in ARR), and extra storage space. The Venture system did not require much effort to expand it, as sending them out hunting all takes place off screen.

Also retainers are ill-suited to trooping through the countryside beside you lore-wise because, that is why they are retainers in the first place! Retainers are specifically little more than servants, dogsbodies who do odd jobs for you - in fact the retainer vocate in 1.0 outright says that to the player, that "they are hardly the brightest candle in the chandelier", but "that they excel at the tasks you adventurers usually regard as below you" (paraphrased). And as they are found to be somewhat of a lazy and untrustworthy lot at the best of times, not to mention downright larcenous (I mean, it's the only explanation for how they happen to come by most of the items they may bring back during Ventures, like parts of houses!), I definetely wouldn't trust them in battle beside me!

Really I would love to see SE instead bring back the old Path Companions from 1.0 as they really were adventurers lore wise (and even had the Echo - Minfilia assigned them to you when you first joined the Scions' predecessor organization the Path of the Twelve), they could fight competently and would be able to do everything the player's character does. They even had (story specific) dialogue in 1.0. Alas though, I think Yoshi has all but abandoned them... as much as I would love to have mine back.