I'm still alive. Barely. Since over 2 days no posting from me - guess why.
Game installed and updated in two minutes, without that several hours-long torture I had before with Shogun, offline mode thankfully works this time as intended. Very nice game, can't remember when the last time was that I played anything so exessively. Occasional quest bugs that so far Google helped me to handle. Have specialised in experimenting with fellow fighters accompanying me, somehow this really catches me. My favourites are that female darkelve archer from the tavern in Whiterun, for she avoids traps by herself and uses her bow preferrably (playingh the sneaky archer-type of guy myself). Lydia is a nice balance between distant and close fighting, but seems to run into any trap there is. I have just unlocked Mjoll (and almost got killed during that quest) and gave her best armour I can find. And then Marcero or what the guy is called, the magican in Rifton. Definetly has seen too many Star Wars movies, one moment I see the enemy, the next moment he already has zapped it. He even zaps stuff I never have seen. It'S a constant zapping noise behind me.
The big zapper of Rifton county, that's what they called him, but they did not live long enough to tell anybody.
But I do not use him anymore, he is not really fun - got grilled myself too oftenb, too, and he leaves me too little bloody fun for myself to do.
Maybe not everybody knows it, but there are bugs with the companions (the followers I mean, to be precise), it is sometimes hard to make them wear the stuff you give them, and they never use any other bow than their default (except Imperial bows which they accept if they are stroinger than their hunting bows). Solution I found via Google: take everything from them you still want them to carry, later. Then open console, click on the character, and type removeallitems. This frees them of all deafault cloathing and default weapons, especially those weapons that usually do not get listed in their inventory, including their bows. Then give them a body armour first, and then anything you want them to use. They now will use just these weapons, and not the default bow anymore. Also nice is that they keep the stuff you gave them when you leave themn and later rejoin them - it still is there.
Shields obviously are wasted on companions preferring to fight with two-handed weapons (Mjoll). Give them the best two-hander you can get instead, but also a good bow. Give them best armour.
I also had the luck - I assume it is randomised - to find dwarf boots very early, a very strong item for that early stage of the game, the boots are giviong 100% silence. I give them to the companion I travel with, and take it back when I leave him/her. The companion will no longer give our presence away when I carefully make a sneaky approach onto a dungeon. It is details like this, or the fantastic landscape, water, sky colour-light-show that impresses me most.
In tight tunnels, I order companions to an elevated position from where they can rain arrows, or I leave them in a hall with much room if the tunnels are too tight. I then lurk overwhelming hordes of enemies into that hall where the companion can join me in massacring them - else I constantly feel my companion'S weapons stinging in my back.
Its just that followers ordered to halt nevertheless start moving all by themselves once a fight begun, and they close in, and too early. In giving orders to followers, there is space for improvements. Basioc orders like "Stay here, do not close in", "Close in to infight", "Prefer distanced weapon, avoid infight", "stay concealed".
It seems companions have different combat styles indeed. The elve archer avoids close fighting if possible and sticks to her arrows, if possible. Lydia and Mjoll fire just from the distance, but seek the closer infight early on.
So far it all runs wiothout the troubles Shogun gave me, I hope it stays like that. It'S really the great game people are saying. Already a classic. I know I will play this exessively over the next months. It simply looks marvellous. I loved Oblivion, I now love Skyrim. And the soundtrack, with the occasional repetition of the old Oblivion-theme- that's those little tricks by which to make Oblivion-players feel at home immediately. Or the Nirnwurz.
Funniest thing that made me laugh out loud. Bad guy mumbling to himself:
"Diebstahl, ja, das ist noch echte Kunst. Man schleicht sich rein, nimmt sich was man will, und geht wieder. Ganz ohne Gewalt. - Hm. - Klingt eigentlich eher langweilig." 