NEW VERSION NOW AVAILABLE - DEFAULT LOOK
DERKEETHUS IMPROVED 2.1 IS NOW DOWNLOADABLE.
NEWEST VERSION FIXES THE GLITCHED FACE BUG, SORRY EVERYONE FOR THE LONG DELAY ON THE FIX!

Derkeethus is the only argonian follower in all of skyrim yet for some reason bethesda did not put much effort into making him original or any use to you while in combat. After 30+ hours of using the original Derkeethus I decided enough was enough and went about fixing and improving this friendly lizard.

DERKEETHUS DEFAULT:

Scared emotion lasts forever
NO PERKS - hes as good as a level 1 character in combat
Low base health
Flees from combat CONSTANTLY due to the low base health always running out
Constantly engages in melee combat over using his bow when he is better at using his bow
He only levels with you up to 30
He dual wields only when given two pickaxes
No spells ... not even a healing spell
Unoriginal character design - nothing sets him apart from other argonians except for his horns
Reports any crimes that he witnessed you committing

DERKEETHUS IMPROVED:

Emotions are fixed

Full perks tree:
{ Custom Fit }{ Matching Set }
{ Light Foot } - Does not trigger pressure plate traps!
{ Overdraw Rank 1 }{ Critical Shot Rank 1 }{ Quick Shot }{ Hunter's Discipline }{ Ranger }
{ Extra Pockets } - Carries 100 extra weight
Racials and Spells:
{ Histskin } - only works with mods that enable AI use of racials
{ Healing } - Left Hand Version

Base health raised slightly to give him some extra survivability
Derkeethus now set to Foolhardy; thus preventing him from fleeing combat
Custom combat AI package made; he will now use his bow over his melee weapons unless the
enemy is right in his face.
Derkeethus can carry more weight than your usual companion thanks to his experience of
moving heavy loads of ore in the mine.
Derkeethus will now level up to a maximum level of 200 with you
Derkeethus can now dual wield any one hand weapon that you give him
Derkeethus will use his healing spells after getting knocked down
Derkeethus now has a very original look to him that remains lore friendly while giving him that
youthful foolhardy look that he has been needing:
      Light green skin / Dark green warpaint / Yellow pupil eyes / Yellow neck
      (optional file contains his default look for those who wish to remain true to skyrim)
Derkeethus now ignores crimes that you commit


Overall this mod makes Derkeethus a true ranger follower that Bethesda should have done originally. No longer is this argonian a second rate companion but one of the best (if not the best) archer you can get in the game. His main high stats focus on Archery and Stealth while One Hand and Shield level up much slower. When equipping him make sure to give him a muffled gear piece as well as health and damage boosting enchants for the best possible setup. You will often find Derkeethus now firing his bow and killing your targets faster than you can draw and pull back an arrow with your own bow.

Installing the mod is very simple and the mod load order should not affect gameplay. Just place the file into the Data folder or use the NMM installation option. This mod might have compatability issues with other Derkeethus altering mods so do not stack them!

Mods I would strongly suggest using with Derkeethus Improved :
(or for anyone who loves argonians)
Argonian Tail Bug Fix
Bigger Argonian Tails
Willow's Whiter Teeth
Digitgrade Beast Races Full DLC Edition
A Better Body Scale for Khajit and Argonians
Better Claws for Beast Races
Argonian Improvements - Horns

Mods I would suggest for improving followers in general
Increased Follower Limit
Better Stealth Ai for Followers

The mods I listed are mods that I have personally used for well over 40 hours each and I have
seen that they cause no crashes or lag when used with eachother or other mods. I could not play
Skyrim without the follower mods I have listed; as they improve the game vastly.

Thanks for checking out my mod (First one for Skyrim) and possibly downloading it. I spent a good amount of time working on it and testing it afterwards and I hope you enjoy using it as much as I do!