We might say there are three vectors for each of the Companions that define their skills and equipment: the skills they are defined to be good at; the gear they are defined to be equipped with; and what we can infer from any dialogue that expresses their preferences and history. Anyone who has looked at how the Companion NPCs are set up will realize that these vectors are seldom in alignment--characters are often equipped with gear that fits neither their skills nor their stated experiences, which are themselves not necessarily aligned.

We can of course imagine some realistic reasons why this might be so. For example, a fighter might choose to train in armor or weapons that they are unfamiliar with, in order to broaden their skills. Or certain trends--all the whelps wearing light armor, all the Circle heavy--might be part of a larger program of training, or group fighting strategy. Younger, less-experienced fighters might simply be mistaken about which weapons or armor weight is ultimately best for them. Or certain items might have personal significance, family heirlooms and the like, which an NPC would want to use even if not best-suited for them.

Still, all of these are attempts to rationalize away a problem that doesn't really need to exist. And while providing rationales for vanilla problems is part of what this mod does, it does also get boring seeing the same old swords and shields being used by all the whelps even as they talk constantly about other weapons. Plus, it requires a displeasing level of metagaming to know that certain NPCs actually have certain skills when they never use them in the vanilla game.

So I set about changing things. My goals were:

1) Be true to each character. Given that in the vanilla game they all wear different armor, I decided it would be okay to give them different weapons. Which weapons and which armor I gave them are based on statements they make about their preferences and their history; skills in turn were adjusted based on the gear selections.

2) Offer some diversity. The model of the Companions, dating from the original Five Hundred, was the union of diverse skills. I often say that they're closer to a team of superheroes than to a traditional military unit. Sparring with each Companion should feel different, and different Companions should offer different combat experiences when brought along as followers.

3) Make even the whelps above-average fighters. The Companions have historically been a consortium of good, established fighters. Vilkas's surprise at Kodlak allowing someone he's never heard of to join suggests this is still the case, even during a time of obvious decline for the guild in which the game takes place. And in terms of gameplay, I wanted sparring to be fun and challenging; you should be able to feel your PC getting better relative to the whelps as you level. So the whelps should be flawed, but capable: Njada for example talks about single-handedly taking down a "crew of ruffians."

4) Offer players who disagree with my choices a way to revert them to the vanilla settings. You can do so in the "Shield-Siblings" area of the SkyUI MCM.

The interesting thing is that once I started making changes, they all seemed to fit together nicely: basing skills and gear usage on the personalities of the characters naturally led to a pleasingly diverse distribution that both fits the feel of the Companions and offers players different possible experiences.

These, then, are the changes I've made:

Aela
Aela grew up hunting, and in vanilla Skyrim has an armor skill focused on light armor; however she wore a set of heavy armor. I have made a custom set of Light Ancient Nord Armor for her, changed her shield from heavy to light, and given her a custom class to emphasize these skills.

Level Range: expanded from 8-50 (vanilla) to 15-81 (mod)
Armor: removed vanilla Ancient Nord armor / added custom light Ancient Nord armor
Perks: CustomFit, LightFoot, MuffledMovement, Ranger, CriticalShot60, FightingStance, Armsman40, AgileDefender80, Steath60,Silence, Powershot, Overdraw60, custom perks to increase weapon speed and critical hits when using a dagger


Athis
Athis is always talking about how he prefers short quick blades, so instead of his vanilla sword and shield, I've given him a pair of Skyforge Steel Daggers, with a custom combat style so he will dual-wield them. His armor skill in vanilla is for heavy armor, but given his preferred quick fighting style and default light armor, I've given him a custom class that refocuses his armor skill on Light Armor. And speaking of his armor, I've also given him proper armored hide boots and bracers, to go with the cuirass.

Level Range: expanded from 5-25 (vanilla) to 10-50 (mod)
Armor: removed mix of Hide and clothing / added full set of Hide
Weapon: removed Steel Shield and Skyforge Steel Sword / added two Skyforge Steel Daggers
Combat Style: custom, emphasizing dual-wielding
Perks: CustomFit, LightFoot, Bladesman30, Armsman20, MuffledMovement, DualFlurry30, AgileDefender20


Farkas
Farkas and Vilkas were the toughest challenge, because I wanted them to look and feel different from each other, but the game pushes them both toward using the same armor and the same weapon. Farkas is hard-coded within the game to use a greatsword in combat, and Kodlak even comments on it, so that sticks; I have at least replaced the default steel greatsword with Skyforged Steel. And I've given him a suit of wolf armor, to match that dialogue that may occur in Dustman's Cairn. More controversially, I've given him a set of the wolf armor without gauntlets. This does reduce the top end of his armor stat, however my reasoning is fourfold. As I said, I wanted something to visually separate him from Vilkas, and this does so. It also links visually to how Farkas is the one to give brawling quests. To my mind the look fits his personality--rather raw and unconcealed. And if anyone could get by without wearing a piece of heavy armor, it would be a heavy armor master.

Level Range: expanded from 8-50 (vanilla) to 15-81 (mod)
Armor: removed Steel armor / added Companions Wolf Armor without gauntlets
Perks: Armsman00, FightingStance, FistsOfSteel, TowerOfStrength, WellFitted, Stealth00, MuffledMovement, LightFoot, Juggernaut60, DeepWounds30, Barbarian40, ShieldWall60, BlockRunrer, PowerBash


Njada
In vanilla Skyrim, Njada is more skilled in heavy armor, but wears a full set of light. Based on one of her conversations with Skjor, her fighting style is based on blocking and absorbing blows, so I've given her a set of heavy Steel armor instead that's more suited to that strategy. And her blunt personality called for a blunt weapon: a mace felt right for the most hard-headed of Companions. She has a custom combat style that emphasizes a slow defensive approach rather that rushing to attack, with a high rate of shield-bashing.

Level Range: expanded from 5-25 (vanilla) to 10-50 (mod)
Armor: removed Hide armor / added Steel armor
Weapon: removed Skyforge Steel Sword / added Steel Mace
Combat Style: custom, emphasizing defense and shield-bashing
Perks: FightingStance, LightFoot, DisarmingBash, PowerBash, DeflectArrows, TowerOfStrength, BoneBreaker30, DeadlyBash, Armsman20, ShieldWall80, Juggernaut60, AgileDefender00, WindWalker, DeftMovement


Ria
As the newest Companion (before you arrived), Ria has not had a chance to develop any specializations. The idea is that you may have the chance to guide her training later in the questline, depending on the choices you've made and how you've treated her.

Level Range: expanded from 5-25 (vanilla) to 7-50 (mod)
Perks: LightFoot, Bladesman30, Armsman20, Overdraw20, ShieldWall20, AgileDefender20, Barbarian00, Stealth00, CriticalShot30

Skjor
As the most experienced warrior on active duty among the Companions, the main change I made was to give him a level boost relative to the other Companions and the player character.

Level Range: expanded from 8-50 (vanilla) to 20-81 (mod), with a 1.25x PC level multiplier.
Perks: FightingStance, DisarmingBash, PowerBash, DeflectArrows, TowerOfStrength, DeadlyBash, Armsman80, ShieldWall80, Juggernaut40, Bladesman90, BlockRunner


Torvar
His skills are geared toward heavy armor, but in vanilla Skyrim he wears leather. I have instead given him a some heavy Banded Iron armor--when asked why he joined the Companions, he talks about his debts, so I didn't think he could afford Steel. Torvar tells Athis that he prefers hammers and axes; for the sake of variety among the whelps I've selected a two-handed warhammer for him (all the other whelps use one-handed weapons), and ensured his skills are focused on Two Handed weapons.

Level Range: expanded from 5-25 (vanilla) to 10-50 (mod)
Weapon: removed Steel Shield and Skyforge Steel Sword / added Steel Warhammer
Armor: removed Leather / added Banded Iron
Perks: Skullcrusher30, HackAndSlash30, LightFoot, Armsman20, Barbarian40, AgileDefender20, Limbsplitter30


Vilkas
When Vilkas finishes sparring with the player character, he gives the PC his sword to take to Eorlund. So there's the temptation to think that Vilkas's preferred weapon must be the sword. Yet I've given him a battleaxe. My reasoning is that Vilkas is a two handed weapon specialist, but the sword he gives the player is a one handed weapon--which makes sense, he wouldn't use a favorite blade, or a weapon designed more to inflict massive damage than for defense, when merely testing the arm of a newcomer. Farkas more or less needs to use a greatsword as covered above, and I wanted Vilkas to use a different two-handed weapon. Torvar got the warhammer, and anyway the bladed axe seemed to fit Vilkas better. The strength and ferocity of his temper called for spilling blood, and his divided personality is reflected in a weapon that can divide the bodies of his foes.

Level Range: expanded from 8-50 (vanilla) to 15-81 (mod)
Weapon: removed Skyforge Steel Greatsword / added Skyforge Steel Battleaxe (note: only when activating the mod before joining the guild)
Perks: Sweep, ChampionsStance, LightFoot, PowerBash, Barbarian60, ShieldWall60, Juggernaut20, DeepWounds60, SkullCrusher60, LimbSplitter60, BlockRunner