k so this thread is not about combat prowess (see this thread about that:http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=744755 ) but rather about the aesthetics and storylines of the various companions. Which ones do you prefer?

Ill start:

The oneliners: Have to go with Gault here. His funny comments just crack me up.

The storyline: Dr Lokin. Even before my agent was created, I knew Dr Lokin would be epic just from the stuff I read about him, and I was not dissappointed. Infact, I made my agent male even though I did not really like either Kaliyo nor Temple, just because female agents are only able to romance that boring/creepy Vector. I want a Dr Lokin romance! And Im a guy so go figure.

The character itself: I just love Blizz. A tanking jawa with a rocketlauncher. It just doesnt get more silly than that.

Sexappeal: hands down dark side Jaesa, mainly because she represents the type of woman I am generally attracted to: she has a great body, she knows what she wants, she doesnt beat around the bush and she is not afraid to take initiative. (nothing more sexy than a woman who takes initiative). Plus I like women who are a little crazy

great expectations (talking about companions here for classes I dont play yet but I expect I will like)

Doc: from what I read about him he is very flirtatious, so I expect he will remind me a lot about myself.

Lord Scourge: A Sith pureblood as Jedi knight companion? Thats just crazy. There has to be a great backstory to that...

(two Jedi Knight companions in this list..I should definately roll a JK soon lol)

female trooper chick Her name escapes me (I dont play much on the repside) but I remember seeing a very attractive female trooper companion on the Republic fleet. Curious about her backstory/romance. (even though looks dont mean much, as any female companion can be made attractive with the proper customization. Too bad you cant change body type with customizations, Mako needs to gain some weight)

Blizz badum tish (yes i went there)

but seriously, i love HK, no one will ever replace him as my fav.

following right behind is Elara

Standouts for me:

Jedi Knight:

Kira Carsen - Deep story, interconnected with your character's. Cute, great romance companion

Lord Scourge - Interesting interactions and lore

Jedi Consular

Tharan Cedrax - 2 for 1 here since you get Holiday who is a blast

Zenith - Rebel anti-hero. Great summoning line, "Who do you need dead?"

Trooper

Elara Dorne - Great voice, decent story, but it's mostly the voice! *swoon*

M1-4X - Ultra-patriotic, even lines I've heard 3-4 times are still funny. E.G., he talks at one point about "the mindless hedonists of the Sith Empire" with unchecked disgust.

Smuggler

Gus Tuno - No spoilers, but his lines are great, "I am a Jedi, fear me!"

Risha - Love or hate her, but she has a good story well connected to the over all lore

Inquisitor

Lt. Talos Drellik - "Lt. Talos Drellik, Imperial Reclamation Service, at your service!" This guy is totally appropriate for a Sith Inquisitor's assistant

Warrior

Vette - Spunky, got to love Spunky. And you get to sleep with her sister and have her thank you for it!

Jaesa - Literally in love with her. Both light and dark. Very mad we can't romance the light side one.

Bounty Hunter

Blizz - Just like you said, JAWA TANK!

Gault - "Sure whatever."

Imperial Agent

Dr. Lokin - Weird, but in the most awesome way possible

Vector - Weird, in the weirdest way possible. Did you ever want to sleep with an entire species?

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I don't know that I have a favorite, but if I were forced to choose it would be Blizz. I hate that he's on the class I least like to play.

Warrior - tossup between Vette and Pierce. I really enjoyed everything about Vette and romancing her as a dark V character, opposites attract and all. A couple of lines during the last conversation seemed to tie it all together for me (though I did chose the LS option during that mission, without spoiling anything). Pierce is like a bro, someone whom I'd trust to have my back. Also enjoyed his Bastion storyline. Overall I thought the warrior had the strongest lineup of companions in the game as well.

Inquisitor - Really liked Khem Val, didnt really care for where the story went but, again without spoiling, I always stood by Khem. He works well with my dark inquisitors.

Agent I can't say enough about Kaliyo. Lying, cheating, manipulative, underhanded no good rotten scoundrel... and I loved every minute of it! Couldn't wait till I had another conversation available. I thought her story was extremely fun, couldn't wait to see what she was going to do next. I think the voice actress really nailed the lines, it tied the whole thing together nicely. Even when screwing someone over, she does so in such a sexy bedroom voice, I just love that. Plus she has some of the best combat lines; I have a little surprise for you and come on out I'll show you my gun.

Knight - Kira was the strongest companion I thought. T7 was fun as well (R2 and all) but a little too needy, in constant need of reassurance. I thought Kira's story was dynamic and engaging. Scourge was great for what he was, and I use him often, but he and I usually don't click well in conversation as I'm light side.

Councilor - Meh. Weakest companion lineup in my opinion. Didn't really dislike any of them but don't have any strong positive feelings for any either. They were just there; one healer, 2 dps, 2 tanks. Meh.

Smuggler - Risha and Bowdaar. Han, Leia and Chewie. Gus was fun but the spineless weasels routine I can only take for so long.

Those are the only classes I've finished and saw all the companion dialogue and missions, some multiple times.

Trooper - So far liking Jorgan, Elara and MX's story and dialogue.

Bountyhunter - Still only Mako, not bad but I have a feeling she's going to me more of a meh, like I felt about Nadia and Ashara. We'll see, it's still early yet.

So favorite of them all, Kaliyo.

Ill list them off by class.

Smuggler: Bowdarr: Whenever i roll around with Bowdarr i feel like Han Solo with Chewbacca, it just fits. And his story is pretty decent

Trooper: None: All of the trooper companions suck, if i had the CC's i would get HK-51, but currently broke. the only reason i use a companion on my Assault VG is i die without one.

Inquisitor: Tie between Ashara and Xalek: Both of them have decent storylines and are both fun to use as a Madness Sin.

Knight: Kira: Kira is the only companion i ever use except for that final story segment. She's a ******, has the best lines and is romanceable to boot!

Warrior: Dark Jaesa: Everything i like about Kira, put into a dark character!

Agent: Tie Between Kalyo and Ensign Rania Temple: Both are really good companions, chose Temple as my Operative romance, will choose Kalyo for my Sniper's Romance.

Bounty Hunter: Torian Cadera: Everything i like about Kira/ Dark Jaesa put into a Tech companion!

Consular: Nadia: Havent played a Consular to 55 yet, but i have seen the entire story and i like Nadia best.

There are several of them that I like to have around, like Vette, Nadia, Lokin or Elara.

But I if I have to pick only one, Khemmy, by far.

His interventions while question, his story, even his voice. I made my third inquisitor body type 1, so him calling her "little sith" makes a lot of sense and it's even cute. An adorable monster.

By my experiences.

Trooper

Elara Dorne, of course. I love to have her by my side with her excellent healing, which is good for my commando because he is DPS. I had a great time romancing and talking to Elara, which I really miss right now. I hope that they add a feature that you could just talk to your companions about different topics about your experiences with the companion or your story. She is by far my most favorite companion.

Lord Scourge: A Sith pureblood as Jedi knight companion? Thats just crazy. There has to be a great backstory to that...

(two Jedi Knight companions in this list..I should definately roll a JK soon lol)

The novel for Scourge's backstory is called Revan and was written by Drew Karpyshyn. It's true. That's all there is to him. If you're not Dark Side he doesn't even like you .

female trooper chick Her name escapes me (I dont play much on the repside) but I remember seeing a very attractive female trooper companion on the Republic fleet. Curious about her backstory/romance. (even though looks dont mean much, as any female companion can be made attractive with the proper customization. Too bad you cant change body type with customizations, Mako needs to gain some weight)

Her name's Elara Dorne

She's the 2nd companion the trooper gets and I don't consider this a spoiler because you figure this out in your first conversation with her on Taris.

My favourtie companions are Gault, because of his great one liners, Dark Jaesa because she's crazy and bloodthirsty, and HK-51 because he's the fusion of them. Also Bowdaar. Because he's a Wookiee.

ONE: Zenith - he is simply the best. unlike the rest of the boys, he not only looks a man in his prime, his story is also that of a man with a past and the future. His ambitions do not overshadow the Main Char's plot, but are of his own and important enough. He has fantastic dialogue delivered by the best voice actor I heard so far. He has a dark edge, just enough of a bad boy to be cool rather than disgusting. He looks drop-dead gorgeous, and he is a Twi'lek (us, female players are not really given much in the droolable Aliens department. He is all we have, really)! Finally, his intro sequence beats anything in the game in terms of story game-gasm, with SIth Warrior on Taris finally killing a certain v. annoying person coming second as well as some sequences with Skavak.... and, yeah, Okay, Numen Brock

Consular's cast gets as a group the coolest designation. The silly brilliance of Tharan, the sweet Iresso who is unique in his ability to deal with his own problems without laying them on the PC's shoulders - a female romance without the Psychoanalysis 101! YAY! And, finally, the best of the best, Zenith. Awww. What a cast! Basically the only Class that comes close to Bao, Atton and Mical wonderfullness. If only Bio took pages from Obsidian's books more often in this regard!

TWO: Pierce and Quinn, taken on their own are not that special, but together they are a glorious contrast and funny as the Nine Hells. Both have very decent character customizations, and Mal has a surprising depth of character and more than a hint of a more tragic figure than appears. The only way they could have been better if Mal was a Chis and Pierce - either Zabrack or Rattataki.

THREE: Kalyio - the only female character I met so far I am actually looking forward to romancing on a male PC. She is off beat and unusual. Akaavi started very strong, but unfortunately grew boring very fast, by endlessly mining the same Mandolorian line.

And, and HONORABLE MENTION: Guss Tuno. Had the little guy been an Nautolan and a Healer with a Saber, I would place him above Pierce and Quinn. Kit Fisto who never was... AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Too bad it didn't happen that way.

The rest of the joinables I have met so far are Okay'ish with the exception of Qyzen, Risha, Jaesa (DS), Elara and Nadia (those ones I didn't find appealing).

I've honestly been waiting for this kind of thread, but just didn't wanna start it. Ignore my sig when reading this. Hasn't been updated in a long while. Here we go:

Consular: The only companion I like is Qyzen. I did notice a lot don't like him though which makes me sad He compliments the personality of my Consular nicely so we made a good team.

Agent: Favorite here is Vector. He is so delightfully creepy and weird, but he's also incredibly sweet and funny. He was a delight to have around and would love to have him accompany some of my other characters. Second is little miss SCORPIO Sanctions. She was so morbid and evil it was hilarious. I used her pretty much exclusively after I got on Belsavis. I wish she had just a little more dialogue to showcase her personality. Lastly is Kaliyo. I just loved her dialogue the entire time and her storyline was great. She and my agent made a pretty kickass female spy duo. I often times found myself going over dialogue twice, sometimes three times, just to hear what sarcastic remark she would make.

Inquisitor: I honestly love all of them, except Ashara. She really just rubs me the wrong way. Khem was just so evil which really suited the personality of my Inquisitor. She's a completely sadistic psycho and loves his desire to devour Force users. Andronikos was really sweet in his own way and brought out the soft side of my Inquisitor. Talos was so perky that it was awesome. He served a nice kind of assistant role. Xalek was interesting. Sadly, you just don't have him long enough to really get a good sense of him. I liked him though.

Smuggler: I actually really like Corso. I know most people don't like his overly chivalrous attitude, but I thought he was really sweet. Just the kind of man I want, lol! Bowdaar was so hilarious. He even says one of the best lines in the game, for me. "I want to climb a tree before we leave" He has so many great lines, that you just can't hate the Wookie.

Trooper: I only have Aric, so I will withhold judgement. I have heard some of the droid's lines though while questing with a Trooper friend on my Consular. He's quite amusing, that I think he'll be a nice comic relief.

Warrior: So far, I only have Vette and Quinn. I really do like Vette. She's witty, hilarious, and a delight. I've yet to form an opinion of Quinn.

Bounty Hunter: Really like Blizz and Torian. Torian adds a nice bit of Mandalorian culture to the crew. And Blizz is a Jawa with a freaking rocket launcher. 'nough said.

Knight: Only have T7 so far. So, I'm going to withhold judgement for the most part. T7 is amusing. From my interactions with Kira so far, she seems funny. Not sure if I'll like her though.

Vette, Vette and more Vette.

My first toon was the Sith Warrior, and when I first got her, I never imagined this annoying Twi'lek thief type (I hate thief types) who opposes every action I take, will grow on me. But goodness, she did. Vette is funny, witty, and never fails to improve the mood. And with all that, she still has immense depth of character and a great backstory. In fact, I deleted and remade my toon just to be nice to her.

Since then, I've broadened my horizons and played more classes, but no other companion has ever made me smile so much. There's something beautiful about how incredibly unlikely it is for Vette to befriend the (full darkside) Sith Warrior, and yet despite being so unlikely, it also makes sense, when you're near the end of chapter 3 and you think of all they've been through together. One of the most touching lines I've heard in this game (or any game), especially coming from the Sith Warrior and his menacing, commanding voice:

Oh, and then I made another Sith Warrior just to romance her. So yeah.

M1 4X is probably one of my favourites. Just a funny guy in a yes sir way. Vette is pretty awesome, funny and just seems like a cool person to hang out with. Jaessa is cool, sucks you can't romance LS but I make do. Bowdaar is cool because wookie, nuff said. HK obviously for nostalgic reasons and cause Sniper. Blizz cause I f***ing love Jawa's, I like Treek, pretty funny and gels with me nicely. Quite a few I like and quite a few I haven't even played with yet.

Honestly there is only 1 per class (Roughly) that I don't like. Kaliyo, the 1st companion on Smuggler and whats his face on the trooper (cathaar) are some of the companions I don't like. The fat guy on my Merc I didn't like for a while but he's grown on me, Skadge I think his name is.

Hopefully we get a Tusken Raider companion one of these days. Feel like it's the cheapest way to implement new companions due to not really needing new dialogue. And cause it'd be funny in a really annoying way. Would prefer a wookie but considering Bowdaar exists already people probably would want something different.

MAKO!

Seriously, no one has mentioned Mako yet? Apart from that point where you have to use Skadge for a little while (but can dismiss his *** and bring her back out before you fight) Ive literally never used anyone else on my PT, and never felt the need to either.

Apart from her:

• Blizz for my merc because, as others have mentioned, Jawa with a rocket launcher and probably the funniest dialogue in the game.
  
• Vette, cause shes awesome. Leveled my juggernaut entirely with Vette, even though that made things take longer with having to recharge every couple pulls (also, Quinn is a .. "@$%&!," for numerous reasons).
  
• Kira. Because Kira has the highest freaking crit rate I have ever seen for augmentation kits (about 60%). That girl never fails to deliver. And, the character is freaking awesome.
  
• Kaliyo. Bioware, for all their faults, did a very good job with her. She feels like a legitimate, real person. A totally amoral, selfish, lying ***** of a psychopath to be sure, but a believable one. Far better than that goody two shoes Temple.
  

Lastly, Id say Holiday deserves an honourable mention. Shes about the only saving grace to Theran Cedrax. Id airlock that mofo in a heartbeat if I could keep her. Although, to be fair, the reason why I like her is because of the interaction between her, Theran, and the consular that develops her to be a her and something more than translucent pink eye-candy.

I just wanted to say, that I started with really liking Kalyio, but she is proving to be so high maintenance in her dialogues later in Chapter 1, I am starting to dislike her. Normally, I go the other way - I tend to like the companion more and more. With Kaliyo, I now don't feel bad about unlocking Treek....

Surprisingly, I like Khem

Lastly, Id say Holiday deserves an honourable mention. Shes about the only saving grace to Theran Cedrax

Tharan, actually. The name is misspelled in every guide almost.

Good question OP!

Here is my list:

Jedi Knight - Pretty much like them all, even Scourge because I like his back story although its tough being a Lightsider around him! But T7 is my favourite - the most loyal, funny and dangerous robot to have around, the little guy is just brilliant. His ebullience is something to behold, like him tons

Consular: I don't have a clear cut favourite, Tharan has his moments, but mostly want to slap him for complaining my about using the Force - I'm a Jedi, what the heck does he expect?! Qyzen is peculiar and reminds me of an annoying work colleague. Zenith is for the Dark Siders, not me, though I do like his voice! Felix is nice and I like his attitude, Nadia is enthusiastic but can be a bit weird but she would have to be my favourite to travel with.

Smuggler: Don't have a real favourite, Corso was fun, Bowdar cool, Gus funny, Risha good to trade banter with but I for some reason have a soft spot for Akaavi, I think my Smuggler fancies her but she is SO angry!!

Trooper: Aric is terribly angry all the time, silly kitty, Tanno is for Dark Siders. M1, Elara and Yuun are all equally excellent, I could not decide who is the best, though Elara's accent...Gosh!

Inquisitor: I've done both Dark and Light for this, I feel the companions as a whole are suited to a Dark Sider, the responses to your despicable actions are in my humble opinion better when you have anyone but Talos or Ashara who are way more suited to the Light. Xalex is my favourite for Dark Side, he is excellently evil and dark. Talos is my favourite for the Light cos I studied history at university and he and I share the same enthusiasm for the subject!

Warrior: Vette, yes, love her to bits! Witty and very appreciative of my being as rude as possible to Darth Baras!

Imperial Agent: I've only maxed out Vector who I think is great for a Light Sider, Kaliyo is dangerously fun, Dr Lokan is odd, Raina I've not spoken to much and Scorpoi is homocidal!

Bounty Hunter: Skadge needs to die. He is not welcome on my ship! Mako is lovely, Gault funny, Torian got better as I got to know him but best of the lot is Blizz. Blizz is adorable. I maxed out his affection so quickly because he is just awesome! ROCKET LAUNCHER!!

So out of all of them either Blizz or T7, Blizz for the sheer hilarity and excellent fun, T7 for the most loyal friend to have for a Jedi