I have a level 50 Shadow "tank". What I can say is the shadow isnt a true "tank" but more like an off tank with off dps skills. I went with the Kinetic Combat tree "defensive". But also mixed in some of the Balance tree. I can clean house with a group,,but it can be a little tough in some solo missions. Even tho people say you can solo the whole game,,ive found with all the classes that there are some areas you can not help but need a hand with. And again ,,i've been asked to help all styles of classes with some of their missions,,and have needed help in return in some areas. The best companion to have tag along for me has bee Tharan. At times he is weak,,but will really shine as a solid crowd control /dps/healer. Ive used Tharan from Nar Shaddaa and on. Nadia Grell is the only jedi you get. At first she will drive you insane,,she drops like a ton of bricks even with guard one her,,but with regular mobs she dps's her face of for you. I still have to go back to Tharan now and then for a longer battle with high level enemies,,but with both of them you really need to invest in gear to keep them solid!!!! The best gear ive seen has been from mob drops and some quest rewards. Qyzen was great to have early on,,but from Nar shaddaa and on,,the rest of the party is pretty much useless,,I think its more of a set for a healer class just to worn ya.