Sorry to dredge this up but I just returned to the game with some friends.... I think people are independently interested in different companies for whatever reasons. 1.22b patch notes indicate they did indeed make it so you could participate in other companies' caravans but it looks like it's unlocked via a much later quest. Do you think it would behoove us to agree on a company to pay together sooner or is acquiring seals not really important until later, anyway?

Thanks!