Having fun with this build so far - doing quests that I've never had a reason to do before is pretty interesting. On my way to becoming the Thane of a third hold, and I had a thought - which side of the Civil War would this character join? Or could it be whichever? I ask because becoming the Thane of Eastmarch requires that questline to be started. I'll probably go with the Imperials, since I'm currently using the Solitude Guard outfit, and it is damn sexy.

I don't know yet myself Skooma, I understand that starting the cival war questline can interfere with obtaining guard costumes due to guards being replaced by stormcloaks or imperials. I'll be sure to post a workaround when i get to that part of my playthrough! Thanks for the heads-up!

Yeah, that's why I'm running around gathering every guard costume from each hold before trying anything like that. :)

I didn't care to be honest Gustaf, as long as they could wear the armor (I was very strict on that point) My only two followers so far have been Faendal and Janessa.

Faendal randomly betrayed me mid-battle at Fort Greymoor, bastard stabbed me in the knee! So I killed him...

Janessa has been solid so far, but I'm keeping my eye on her...

There is only one Winterhold guard in the entire game with the full set, he lives at Whistling Mine. Be sure to stop by and bring a convoy of trolls for him to fight...

Winterhold guard armor is badass!!

Yeah, I read up on that earlier on today, actually. And yeah, that armor is pretty amazing. I love the shield - shame that it's not easier to find than hunting down that one guard. Poor guy.

Oh, and I've been levelling Health and Stamina equally so far, does that seem right to you?

I'm going with a 0/2/1 for this playthrough because i'm playing master difficulty/dead is dead. 0/1/1 is perfectly fine though if your playing more casually.

If you want a mage follower, then would Marcurio in The Bee and Barb in Riften do? He knows some pretty kickass spells - Chain Lightning stands out - and can heal himself pretty well. Plus, he's a sassy bastard - "Try not to walk into any spike-filled pits or filthy skeever dens."

It's not like he's stupid, either. He actually uses spells well and chooses depending on an enemy's weakness. Chain Lightning friendly fire could be an issue with a dog, though.