Recruiting followers is one of the most interesting parts of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, as many NPCs are waiting for you to invite them on your adventures. Each one of them is unique, and their weapon preferences and personalities can shape the way you and them battle together.
To help you choose the best follower we have created this guide, where you can find the best Skyrim followers and what they can offer, and you can also find out which ones are just the worst followers and why. Just remember that you can always choose the one you like the most, as at certain points in the game you become so powerful that followers become pointless.
Table of Contents
Good: Aela the Huntress
Aela is a Nord and a member of the Companions, she’s also a member of The Circle, a secret clan where every member suffers from lycanthropy. You can unlock her by joining The Companions, and she’s an excellent archer who will not judge you if you commit crimes, making her an excellent choice for a player who specializes in melee combat and thievery.
While she can transform into a werewolf, she will not do so while she’s following you, but some PC mods can enable her transformation while she’s following you. She can also marry the player and be invited to join the Blades, making her one of the most versatile followers you can find in the game.
With certain mods, you could also argue Aela is the most attractive follower but I suppose that is for a different list… anyway, although I consider her one of the best followers in terms of eye candy, Aela can still be killed as she is non-essential after you complete Totems of Hircine. So be very careful with your future wife if you ever complete that quest-line.
Bad: Sven
He’s one of the first followers you can obtain in the game, and as such, you shouldn’t expect much of him. Sven is a Nord bard found at Riverwood who’s competing with Faendal -another potential follower- over the hand of Camilla Valerius. Be aware that you won’t be able to get Faendal as a follower if you help Sven.
Sven isn’t what you’d call reliable, as he will often flee from battles and his combat skills are just subpar. The only interesting thing he has is his lute, but there are no enemies in-game willing to put down their weapons and listen to his music.
Still, give the poor guy some decent armor and he’ll gladly sponge some damage for you.
Good: Mjoll the Lioness
Mjoll is another awesome Nord warrior follower, and she can be found patrolling the city of Riften. She’s a good melee fighter, but she can be equipped with bows or magic staves which she can use efficiently. Due to her status as an essential character to the story, she can’t be killed by any means, making her an excellent choice for ranged characters with low HP.
If you like to know more about Skyrim’s lore, or if you just feel like traveling with another adventurer who will tell you tales while slaughtering enemies, Mjoll will be your best friend. She’s really fond of Riften, so never get a bounty on this city or she will stop following you. Just like Aela, she can be a marriage candidate and can be invited to join the Blades.
Bad: Roggi Knot-Beard
Roggi can be found at Kynesgrove, and he’s a Nord miner that can be unlocked as a follower by completing his quest, which requires you to find an ancient shield. His level caps at 20, and even at a max level all his stats are pretty much mediocre, if that wasn’t enough, he will often flee from battles if his health gets low.
He won’t commit crimes, but he will defend you if you are attacked by guards, which is something remarkable since he’s kind of a coward in regular battles. Also, he’s a marriage candidate, maybe he’d be more useful to you as a housemaid.
Good: Dark Brotherhood Initiate
You can invite these initiates to follow you after murdering Titus Mede II, and they can be found at the Dawnstar Sanctuary. They are one of the few followers in the base game without a level cap, making them a very good choice for high-level characters. They also count as essential NPCs and can’t be killed, which is nice for players who fight from a distance.
While the idea of traveling with an assassin might sound exciting and interesting, they have somewhat bland personalities and will rarely interact with your character, so they might be the perfect choice for players who just want to play their games without being bothered by a bantering NPC.
Bad: Lydia
Is Lydia the best follower in Skyrim? No.
She’s a Nord who can be unlocked by completing the quest Dragon Rising, which involves killing your first dragon. While she’s a decent fighter, she’s known for using the worst items possible, she’s also coded to block doorways for some odd reason, and the only way of getting past her without fighting is by literally screaming at her or shoving her out of the way.
Lydia is also known for being very picky about the terrain you both walk, as she won’t walk over difficult pathways and will prefer to take the safest way. This often makes her take the longest route or getting aggroed and killed by enemies that could be easily avoided by climbing up a small cliff.
Good: Teldryn Sero
Teldryn Sero looks more like a bounty hunter from Star Wars than a medieval mercenary. You can hire Teldryn Sero for 500 Septins, and he’s a mixed fighter that’s able to cast destruction magic, use one-handed swords efficiently and heal himself if he’s close to dying. Fun fact: Under normal circumstances, Teldryn will only use helms that cover his entire head.
The best thing about him is that he’s able to summon a Flame Atronarch, which sometimes is enough for you to relax while your follower and his minion are doing all the hard work. He also has cool dialogues and will tell you interesting stories when entering special locations.
Bad: J’zargo
J’zargo is a Khajiit who aspires to be the Archmagus of the College of Winterhold. You can make him a follower if you complete his quests which involve testing his scrolls. He’s a very versatile fighter, but he’s hindered by the worst kind of flaw.
This Khajiit is a decent caster that can cast up to 9 different spells, including Sparks, Ice Spike, Firebolt, and Heal Other. He’s also lacking a level cap, and his spells will scale up to the quality of the staff he’s using. The thing is that, while J’zargo has all these amazing perks, he’s known for having glitches that render him unreliable at times.
Good: Cicero
While Cicero isn’t exactly the kind of person you’d want to be adventuring with in real life, he’s a pretty cool character to travel with. To unlock him as a follower you need to enter the Dark Brotherhood and then spare his life once you’re given the option. He isn’t as good of a fighter as Mjoll or Teldryn, but he makes up for it with his personality.
His dark humor, tone-deaf dialogue, and spontaneous dances make him a good choice if you’re playing just for fun, as he’s sort of a medieval Joker. If you’re interested in his armor, there are ways to obtain it without cheats, and if you do, his clothes will just respawn.
Bad: Faendal
If you decided to do the right thing when Sven asked you to give Camilla Valerius a forged letter, then you can be able to ask Faendal to follow you around. He’s a ranged fighter, and he will be a nice companion on your early levels if you’re playing a melee character.
He also uses the most damaging weapons you give to him, and will often use daggers or swords if he has them. Sadly, he isn’t exactly a strong follower as his level caps at 30. He also won’t commit crimes and will help city guards beat you if you are attacked by them.
Faendal is a step up from Sven, both morally and in combat ability.
Most Powerful Skyrim Follower
Out of this list of the best/worst followers in Skyrim, only one can be the most powerful, and as much as we like the homicidal tendencies quirkiness of some of the followers on this list, being a better fighter is a tad bit more important. To this end, Marcurio is the most powerful follower in all of Skyrim.
Marcurio is a spell-caster at the Bee and Barb in Riften and can be hired for 500 septims. Not only is this man a feisty fire-cracker with lines like, “Try not to walk into any spike-filled pits or filthy skeever dens.” but he is also available for marriage once you slap on an Amulet of Mara (and hire him, gotta make that $$$ somehow right?).
That’s it for the 5 best and 5 worst Skyrim followers. What are your favorite followers in Skyrim? Are they the sassy, talkative followers? Or do you prefer the powerful, kill all your enemy followers that play Skyrim for you? Let us know in the comments 😉
