Firstly, let's not go bagging Bioware or EA or Dragon Age (Origins or 2). This post is all about LOVE!
Having recently played through DA2 for the second time, I found that I gave a few of the characters more of a chance and it got me thinking: Who are my favourites? The first time I played through I romanced Isabela. She was fun, entertaining and worked well with the character I played. Second time I romanced Merrill, a character I enjoyed in her own right. She had the whole "cute and naive" thing going on. It was during this romance that Isabela's character shined through even more, as she took on the role of the protective older sister ("If you hurt her, I'll cut your balls off").
The first time I played through, I didn't give Fenris a chance. I just thought he was a broody loser. However, playing a "humourous/sarcastic" Hawke, I found Fenris to be a little more entertaining. Sure he's broody and all, but he has a very dry sense of humour, and when he told Hawke the story of how he escaped Danarius, then proposed a toast to Hawke for being a friend, it was one of those "warm tingly" moments.
But of the non-romance characters in DA2, I'm stuck between Varric and Aveline as my favourites. You really get a sense of the friendship that develops between Varric and Hawke, particularly playing as "humourous/sarcastic" Hawke. He's entertaining and has some of my favourite lines. The relationship between Hawke and Aveline is quite close too. While they don't see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, Aveline respects Hawke and, the way I played at least, there is that sense of trust and friendship that develops. Her quest to court Donnic is hilarious, and Isabela's description of her as a "woman-shaped battering ram" is spot-on. She has some good banters with Isabela and Varric.
In Origins/Awakening, I'd have to say my favourite romance was probably Morrigan, it was a little more complex and challenging than Leiliana. She's also quite a complex and mysterious character. Out of the non-romance characters, I'd say that Ohgren was always good for a laugh (there must be something entertaining about dwarves). Alistair worked well as the loyal friend/compatriot in Origins, and Anders in Awakening was worth having around for the banter with other characters.
Then there's Dog. Everybody loves Dog. Mine was named Stepper (Wheel of Time reference :) )Fat Barry (talk) 00:26, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
well, I'd have to say my favorite character is Varric. He's always there when you need him, and he can lighten up a really serious situation. But I also liked Fenris(as in a romance) because he tries to be better for you, and does become so. All of the characters are like one big family. My favorite DA:O character was dog. He would always be your best friend.Dragonage2fangirl (talk) 00:44, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
Gotta go with Leliana, she has beautiful dialogue, and Corrine Kempa's voice is nice, and she tells stories. Then there is comedic relief Oghren, and the whiny yet beasty Anders. Tommyspa (talk) 00:51, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
I choose Merrill all the way. She's cute, adorable, and with a "dry, sarcastic, humourous" Hawke, talking to her is funny and heartwarming. Also, she reminded me immensely of Aerie from BG2:SOA, with her appearance (no blonde hair of course) and her personality, and I truly liked that. But what really made me fall for Merrill was her side quests if you go on a rivalry romance with her. I actually felt that Hawke could help her change her ways by loving her with a certain firmness, but also gentleness. That said, rivalry romances for all characters are all better for every companion ('cept Osama Bin Anders, he still go boom)because you actually change them. I think that Merrill is the one who really changes the most. So... Merrill romance FTW for lots 'a reasona! (Though I really liked Morrigan in DA:O. WHY did you take my OGB?)Jammin666 (talk) 20:56, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
The only characters I like from DA2 were Varric (smooth talker) and Merril(outright cute), the rest just kind of grated on my nerves for some reason. Particularly Aveline. DAO Leliana was my favourite (Excellent dialogue and brilliantly delivered), then Sten(Who is just plain awesome and has an awesome sense of humour), Then Alistair(just for making me laugh, and being loyal). I could go on listing my favourite characters from Origins for a while, but I won'tjust so I don't take up half the page. NegativeCity (talk) 03:04, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
My favourite chracters in DA2 were Isabela because she is just so funny, then Varric, the dwarf with the heart of gold and Aveline who is just a very annoying but sweet manly girl. For DAO Morrigan all the way. She is the best chracter by far and I just love romancing her. Her romance is so sweet.
In DAO, Alistair as the guy who stands by me no matter what; the best friend one can hope for. And Morrigan as a romance: it's bittersweet, demanding, and fatal. I quite liked Wynne, too, despite her teacher-like attitude, probably because I'm one myself :-) In Awakening, it was Nathaniel - I never thought I could find a son of Rendon Howe such a decent fellow but I wish more attention was paid to the dialogues if PC is a Cousland. In DA2... I'm just at the beginning of my first playthrough and I'm unable to relate to the characters. Varric is the only one who does not grate on my nerves, I keep Anders around as eyecandy, Aveline will probably work out fine in the long run - but Carver stays at home and so does Merril, and I have yet to meet Fenris and Isabela. On the whole, the DA2 characters do not "catch" at first sight like DAO companions. Ygrain (talk) 05:23, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
Ali-bear (Alistair) is my snoogums. I pretty much fell in love with him.
- winces* Just in case the divider isn't enough -- the comment above is absolutely NOT mine. :S
As for companions, it's easier to count ones I didn't like - Sebastian and Beth - and ones I was meh about - DA:A crew minus Sigrun, Alistair and Leliana (kind of liked her in DA:O, hated with fiery passion in DA2 so it balances itself). From the liked ones the most liked would be Zev, Oghren, Varric, Anders, Aveline and Carver. Dorquemada (talk) 07:24, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
I found shale to be an awsome companion. the fact that she calls you IT the entire time just makes her badass personailty that more epic and then of course is her hillarious jokes throughout the game. The awesome twist you get about shale being a girl from caridin was also a very neat way to find out bout shales true identity. my fav moment however would be after you do her personal quest and she has a hard time to say she appreciates you for being a good friend and the 1 time she refers to you as YOU was just that more heartwarming. also love the dialogue she has with my Fav romance leliana bout shoes and having a person inside her which got the best rebuttle "if its so then it is because i ate him" LMAO. Priceless --"how can they truly choose when the option was never even given to them"- The Architect 07:53, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
Yay another thread to express my fondness for my favorite party build in all of game-dom! Still this is tough- I loved them all...
Origins/Awakening: romance wise my favored character was Zevran and then Morrigan or Alistair, but for non-romances I adored Shale (to funny and shares my disgust for humans- maybe not to her extent as she included anything squishy seemed to agitate her), behind her was Sten (his love for cookies instantly won my affections) and Ohgren (who's crude humor was a nice relief from everything else) and then Wynne. In Awakening; Anders (for his humor) and Sigrun (just cute), Nathaniel (seemed like a good guy) and Justice (just because of his cluelessness when introduced to the mortal world). Velanna was my least favorite character out of that first game- she was like Morrigan combined with Fenris (in the sense of crabbiness) without capability of getting close enough to understand her better.
DA:2: romance wise I favored Fenris, the tension between him and my mage was just to entertaining and I like his awkwardness towards something Hawke had to say- such as the first flirt instance, though I favored Fenris Isabela was a close call. Isabela is fun and free (maybe a little more free than what I mean), but she's has a secret heart of gold, I may have disliked her at first, but I retract such ill-thoughts of her. Third and fourth ranks Anders and Merril, both seem to mellow for my tastes. Non-romances, Varric (humorous and all-round good guy- well something rather) and Bethany, then Aveline.
My least favored character is Sebastian, heck even Carver ranks above him. TheDubious (talk) 09:49, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
In DA:O I have to jump on the Alistair band wagon, how can you not adore that guy?! I also had great fondness of Oghren; hes quite funny, you always knew he would be thinking about ale or girls and he would always have your back. I also really liked Shale and her completely non-human aproach to things.
I DA:A no one won my heart like Anders. I even liked him better than Alistair. He's smart and witty with a heart of gold. And of course we also had same ol' Oghren who hadn't changed a bit.
In DA: 2 I still love Anders, now he's just damaged goods which makes me love him even more. After him I really really like Varric - I would trust him with my life without a second thought. And then theres Aveline; she was my moral compass as much as she was my friend. I really liked having someone around with a clear sense of right and wrong even though she prefers following the rules more than me. I found her insecurity when it came to Donnic absolutely adorable. ArcaneLight (talk) 10:21, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
I would put it as "like" rather than "love" because "love" can mean a whole lot of different things in the English language: it can be brotherly love, friendship love, romantic love, or just desire.
Anyway, to start it off:
Alistair from DA:O, because he is the warm, friendly, and funny guy who's all duty to the Grey Wardens but isn't a total stiff.
Oghren from DA:O and Awakening, because he's just "one of the guys", someone all guys can relate to on a very primal level. However, in Awakening, he does think about the child he left behind with Felsi, so potentially he won't be the kind of guy who would play the "spawn 'em then leave 'em" father.
Anders from Awakening (and solely from that game), basically because he and Oghren are the only funny guys in the group and like to rag on each other. I didn't like the revolutionary Anders in DA2 all that much.
Varric from DA2, basically for his personality and his tendency to humorously spin his way out of any situation Hawke and his party may get themselves into. He will also watch over Anders and Merrill, even if it costs him a fortune to do so.
Isabela from DA2, because she really plays the role of "pirate chick" pretty well. She makes a perfect complement to a male Hawke character, and she's fun to have in an all-girl Hawke team. I'd rather have a male Hawke date her than Merrill, who looks rather young for her age. (VicGeorge2K9 (talk) 12:17, May 5, 2011 (UTC))
DAO is unique for me in that I like all the companions, and I generally try to use all of them whenever I replay DAO. I like Alistair's friendship, Wynne's mothering, Zevran's stories, Shale's attitude, etc. And while it can be hard to romance Morrigan while she's busy disapproving of every nice thing you do, she is my preferred romance.
Awakening is the same, I like all the companions. The standout is Nathaniel. He goes from wanting to kill the Warden to being the Warden's friend, and it's even better if the Warden is a Cousland. I've been critical of Velanna before, but once you get to know her and she opens up, she becomes a more interesting character.
And in DA2, I like most of the companions, with the sole exception of Sebastian. And it's not that I dislike Sebastian, I just like all the other companions way more than him. And I can't really judge Bethany, as I have yet to complete the game with a non-mage Hawke.
Standouts are Varric, Aveline, Fenris and Carver. With Varric, I'd just be repeating the love for Varric that everybody else has already stated. The friendship that develops between Aveline and a Male Hawke is a perfect example of a close male-female friendship where romance or sex isn't involved. In fact, I don't know if I'd like Aveline as much if she was romanceable.
Fenris is a deeply troubled character, and one of these days I'm going to romance him as a mage Hawke, just because.
And with Carver, I like his character development if you make him a Warden (I have yet to play a game where he become a Templar). He starts off as Hawke's rival, and becoming a Grey Warden gets Carver out from under Hawke's shadow and Carver becomes his own man. And at the end of the game, the Brothers Hawke are fighting side-by-side, like they should be. Gruedragon (talk) 13:05, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
DAO->Alistair. DAA->Sigrun. DA2->Varric. I've really had fun with all the companions in all 3 games except one (and no the one is not Sebbie), but I won't specify who it is since that is not the point of this thread. Rhautanen (talk) 15:16, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
I would say that Morrigan is my alltime favorite companion because she is just so complex and mysterious and having her as a friend or a romance really brings another side of her out. Fenris is probably my favorite DA2 character because he just seems so unique and simply awesome.88.112.193.144 (talk) 15:32, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
Hmmm...in DAO it's a close tie between Shale and Oghren. Even though they didn't always make it to my party, I did enjoy their characters the most. After them it's probably the secret companion.
DAA - Sigrun or Nate. Perhaps Sigrun. She's the first dwarf I've ever hoped would be romanceable.
DA2 - Most likely Fenris. While I hate no companions in DA2, he is the one I have most trouble leaving behind. Varric comes as close second. Then warden version of Carver. Jaarlitar (talk) 15:45, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
DAO - Probably Morrigan. I don't try to hit on her since I usually have bad luck when i do try because my Wardens are usually helpful. I like her character because I find the mystique behind her compelling.
DAA - None of the companions stand out as any thing spectacular IMO. I guess Nathaniel is ok, & to lesser extent Anders.
DA2 - I won't go into why since I said it other threads, but Merrill is my favorite companion. However, lately Fenris has been growing on me. I usually ignored him or had him pay me then piss off at the end of "Bait & Switch" in past rounds, but I decided give him a chance on my last play through & had my chick hawk romance him (Frindship) & I'm noticing some similarities to my own personality in him. (ie. broody, clings to past) And of course there's Verric, How can you not love him.Ser Pouce-a-lot (talk) 17:30, May 5, 2011 (UTC)
DAO - Morrigan is my romance option and i usually have sten in the party. i fucking love sten. hes awesome. Oghren was just an excuse or art jokes in my opinion. and who can resist zevrans charms? everything that elf says makes me smile. OH GOD SHALE. SHALE RULES!
DAA - sigrun was a cool character in this, and oghren develops a bit. no brilliant characters though
DA2 - first off, sarcastic hawke is pure gold. varric also makes some hillarious remarks, and isabella provides the sexual innuendo. but the prize goes to merril, she's just so . . . loveable. i want to reach in and hug her when the keeper dies. and pol. oh god, that made me feel bad.
(First edit, yeah...)
For DA:O - Alistair (Wait, I ain't gay) because he's a guy who's been through a lot, and he's never afraid to express himself. He might be tough outside, he's soft inside. Also, he kinda acts stupid. When he jokes about stuff, it's usually funny. He's also really kind to people. I actually like the fact that we find out he's royalty after giving us the idea that he'd be the worst leader ever. Although Morrigan's a hot goth chick and my favorite romance option, Alistair's a really nice guy.
DAA - Velanna. She reminds me of Morrigan, they actually share the same hairstyle. She's very powerful. She also gets pissed off very easily, but she's not that mean compared to Morrigan. For some reason, I really like her personality, and for some reason, I think that inside, she's really soft.
DA2 - Merrill. She's kinda like Liara from the ME series. She's also very nice, but then you discover that she's a blood mage. Honestly I think she's a better romancable companion than Isabela, because she's not so bitchy and she hasn't slept with a lot of people. Andrehydra (talk) 03:05, May 6, 2011 (UTC)