Throughout many games, players will often find themselves in the company of a rag-tag band of adventurers, dedicated to completing the mission whatever the cost. These followers, A.I.-controlled assistants with their own weapons, abilities, and behavior, can serve as a welcome aid in particularly tough battles that may require more than what the player alone can give.

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Although they are often fully customizable, companions' own equipment can outclass other tools or skills in terms of looks or power, and in a lot of cases, may not even be obtainable for personal use by the player. They can be highly unique or simply ridiculously useful, but for a few followers, the items can outshine the player's to an extraordinary degree.

9 Legion - Mass Effect 2

One of the final squadmates to join the crew of Commander Shepard in the 2010 sequel, Legion is a mobile Geth platform with a desire to see his species progress beyond their Reaper-orientated shortcomings. Introduced as a deadly sniper, Legion can provide long-distance backup to Shepard when he is taken into the field.

Legion's sniper rifle is as equally desirable as the character himself; the M-98 Widow, which Shepard can optionally pick up on the Collector ship, is unobtainable if not selected there. However, Legion can always gain access to this gun through research, and so even in a playthrough without access to the anti-material sniper, Legion's presence is there to remind the player of what they are missing out on.

8 Fawkes - Fallout 3

A soft-spoken super mutant, Fawkes resides in isolation in Vault 87, content to be away from his more savage kin. Unlike most companions in Fallout 3, the player is unable to equip gear on Fawkes or change his appearance in any way, meaning he will always be a bare-chested Super Mutant.

This isn't a sign of weakness, however. Fawkes' mastery of all gun types, high health, and high damage make this super mutant a beast in comparison to The Lone Wanderer, capable of great feats without any armor or extra equipment. To be a super mutant survivor is just a dream for The Lone Wanderer, but for Fawkes, it's a reality.

7 Elizabeth - Bioshock Infinite

The expected successor to Father Zachary Hale Comstock as leader of Columbia, Elizabeth is thrust into the central plot through her relationship with Booker DeWitt, who arrives in the floating city to free her.

She may not know guns like the disgraced former Pinkerton agent, but Elizabeth's missing finger holds the key to her extraordinary power of creating tears in time and space. She can open portals to parallel universes at will, and though it can be utilized by Booker during his mission, this serves only as a highly limited taster of Elizabeth's truly exceptional power.

6 Wild Flower - Jade Empire

BioWare's lesser-known Chinese fantasy RPG boasts a massive roster of fascinating characters with none more prominent, or powerful, than the innocent Wild Flower. A young girl killed in the flooding of Tien's Landing, Wild Flower's body hosts two celestial demons: the benevolent Chai Ka, and the evil Ya Zhen. In combat, either can take over from Wild Flower depending on alignment, replacing the girl with a huge beast capable of doing massive damage.

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Although the player has access to transformation styles that bear close resemblance to Wild Flower's own shape-shifting, they have more limited abilities and are not as effective as the little girl's.

5 Quiet - Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain

Controversial design aside, Quiet is a highly compelling character in Metal Gear Solid 5, initially appearing in the introduction but developing into one of Venom Snake's most loyal allies.

Fundamentally, Quiet is a long-range sniper, and benefits from three research projects that give her access to devastating weapons Snake can only dream of using. The butterfly rifles have the potential to take Parasite soldiers head-on, and combined with Quiet's own parasite abilities, which give her excellent mobility and survivability, she is a force to be reckoned with.

4 Elika - Prince Of Persia

The Princess of Ahura doesn't hail from a particularly popular entry in Ubisoft's action-adventure franchise, but she is one of the most powerful characters to come out of it. Elika effectively makes the player immortal, given that she rescues them from all killing blows, and possesses supernatural powers of flight and magic to support The Prince in his fight against Ahriman.

Compared to The Prince, who fights with conventional weapons and uses Parkour to maneuver, Elika's skill set is far better. It's a shame the game never got a sequel, as Elika's particularly unique moveset is just asking to be used in co-op.

3 Yoshi - Super Mario World

Although Nintendo's 1991 game doesn't offer nearly as much diversity in character abilities as later entries, Yoshi's debut gave Mario a vast amount of new skills to play with in the 2D platformer, making use of his gluttonous appetite to chomp any enemy that stood in the way.

Compared to Mario or Luigi, Yoshi was stronger, faster, and more deadly, able to eat and spit out Koopas like candy. In Super Mario World, he is a worthy companion to the titular plumber and an extraordinary asset to the player.

2 Bastila Shan - Knights Of The Old Republic

Bastila Shan's uniqueness stems not from the gear itself, but when gamers are given access to it. Freeing her from the clutches of The Black Vulkar swoop gang on Taris during the game's introductory planet, Bastila Shan has access to force powers, a lightsaber, and several other perks far earlier than the player, who can only become a Jedi upon completing Taris and training on Dantooine.

Although the lightsaber quickly becomes common during the player's quest, the initial content in Knights of the Old Republic is made significantly easier by Bastila Shan's Jedi presence, and it is for these reasons she often remains in the party for the entirety of her journey on Taris.

1 Serana - The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

The fact that Serana has an Elder Scroll during her first encounter with the Dragonborn should be enough to incite jealousy, but on top of this, she also possesses the power of a Vampire Lord, something only available to players who join forces with Castle Volkihar.

Should the player choose to fight alongside the Dawnguard, then Serana's briefly-revealed Vampire Lord abilities are as close as they can get to the entirely new skill tree introduced in the DLC. Serana's environment-dependant hood, which is drawn upwards when outside, is another highly desirable behavior players wish could be applied to their own armor, but like her armor set and abilities, it is nigh-impossible to achieve outside of modding.

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