I have fond memories of the FFXI Adventuring Fellow, aside from the abysmal opening day, where the line for it stretched to the outside of the zone, and you had to wait a solid 2-4 hours if you didn't get there quick enough. I thought that's what they were aiming for with the 1.0 companion, but clearly that has yet to be the case.

Whether it be our retainers, or something akin to XI/1.0, I am very much down for humanoid NPC companions. The giant bird is nice and all, but it's just not the same.