Skyrim actually has an insane amount of followers and even more so if you decide to go into modding. Today, we want to look at some of the best followers in Skyrim and who you should pick to have by your side.
I never actually realized just how many followers there are in Skyrim before I did the research for this article... but holy crap, guys. I didn't even know half of these people... or creatures.
Anyway, with so many followers, you do have to ask yourself who the best followers are. So that's what we're going to look at today.
Since I know that many of you don't play vanilla Skyrim, I'm going to include mods for each companion that overhaul them (but in a realistic way. This ain't gonna be a big booby mod list... though that's an idea for another day).
The Best Followers in Skyrim
Uthgerd the Unbroken
Uthgerd is just a badass and one of the earliest followers you encounter. You have to fight her hands-on (which isn't exactly hard) and if you win against her, she becomes a follower. Should you like Uthgerd and the vibes that she gives off but don't like her original look (which is a very common thing in Skyrim), then I'd recommend this mod.
It gives you the options of having the normal "older-looking" Uthgerd or a slightly younger version which I think is pretty cool.
Serana
You will only encounter Serana if you own Dawnguard. She's a vampire and a pure-blood vampire at that. Given her backstory, having her as a traveler is actually very interesting and for that reason alone, I'd advise you to travel with her at least once.
Serana is one of the most popular followers, so there are a lot of mods for her out there (even though I think her base model is actually quite alright). A lot of these mods are very hardcore though and change a lot about Serana. So I think this mod will be perfect for you if you like the original Serana.
Mjoll the Lioness
Mjoll the Lioness comes off as super intimidating, but she actually just wants to do the right thing. If you plan on becoming part of the Thieves Guild, though, you probably shouldn't take her with you on your playthrough as she hates it with all her gut.
As for Mjoll mods, I'd say this one is the best as it just gives her a little face lift without changing too much.
Erandur
You will meet Erandur if you decide to take on the quest "Waking Nightmare". It's a very cool quest and Erandur will become a follower if you make the right decisions (it's not like you don't know what's going on, but on the slight chance that there are still people out there who haven't played Skyrim, I'm not going to give it all away).
I'm not going to give you any Erandur mods. Why? Because he doesn't have any boobies, so people don't care to make mods about him. Iconic.
Aela the Huntress
Aela the Huntress is a werewolf, that alone should make you want to have her as a follower. She's also an expert Archer, though, so you'd want to have her by your side either way.
Aela is a very popular follower, so there are a lot of mods for her out there. I personally really like this one, but you can simply check Nexus Mods for all of her other mods.
Cicero
Cicero is a very weird guy, but he's also one of the most interesting followers in Skyrim. When you encounter him, he transports his "mother" and I remember back then when I first met him thinking "what's going on? I want to see this through".
This mod is a pretty good Cicero mod as it doesn't change too much about the guy. There are a lot of "prettier" Cicero mods though, so if that's what you're aiming for, go for it.
Lydia
And of course, we can't forget about the most iconic followers in Skyrim: Lydia. Not much to say about her other than that we all love her.
As for mods, Lydia got an insane amount of them. I really like this one as it doesn't turn her into a Japanese doll (that's a common theme).
And there we go, the best followers that Skyrim has to offer. Of course, I was talking a lot about mods. If you're into modding Skyrim, then you should definitely check out the follower section for Skyrim. Some of them have fully written backstories and are even voiced, so if you're already modding the game, might as well check out that part.