Anyone else notice that free companies are just good for maybe your static second coil group now and that's about it?

It's not the fault of your fc buddies either:
1)It's just like, roulettes? One player.
2)Party finder? Maybe they ask the fc, but do they have to? Coil 1-5 / Primals and dungeons are done pretty easily with just random people. They probably don't want to bother you with "gear farm" stuff for their alts. If you need some piece of gear from 1-5 for your second coil group, then maybe they will help you... possibly, but really you should spend your soldiery tomes on that anyway.
3)Crafting. Ok, I'll give you this one *maybe* you have a master crafter in your fc that makes you stuff. But it's not like leveling crafting is very hard. Unless you just don't feel like doing it, there is no reason to rely on anyone else here either.
4)Housing. What is housing actually useful for? Roleplaying? Gardening? If you are one of the lucky few that get to manage your fc's garden, you are really the 1%.
5)Other stuff I may edit in later if people actually like this thread...

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my FC. They are good peeps. I like doing stuff with them and am usually one of the first say "MEME" when someone is doing a roll call for some group task. I guess what I'm just saying is this game sort of takes emphasis off the need of a FC or a guild to enjoy the game. Which is their choice and I know this won't change (it's simply designed that way intentionally). But what do all of you think about it? Would you be happier with it being more FFXI style where you need friends in more occasions? (Though I'm not suggesting we go hardcore like old FFXI where you need a full group to kill a crab).