REMEMBER TO PUT IN THE [INTELLIGENT] AND [CAN_LEARN] TAGS!
I made the mistake of not slapping those in there, so I can never gain experience in anything. This also means I can only have two drunks following me around at any one time.
However, the plus side is that I don't need 'em. Or the leveled-up skills. Those things are powerful enough to not need much of anything, but it's still fun to pick up a giant two-handed axe with one hand and start dismembering people.
The colossus is large enough that he can carry a two-handed (human two-handed) weapon in one hand, plus a shield in the other.
Also, don't worry if your eyes get torn out. You apparently don't really need them (my dude, "Talos", got both of his ripped out by a giant while a cave spider had him under paralysis and was nibbling on him. It's actually kinda cool when you think about it).
I once got mobbed by three cave spiders at the same time. It took ages for the stacked effects of being triple-webbed and triple-poisoned to wear off, but once they did, well... "STOMPIN' TIME!"
And that giant? Once I woke up, I squished his cave spider pal, and then ripped out both his eyes and strangled him just a little bit. Before he died, I let off and started punching him, just to make it last a little longer. Unfotunately, I ended up hitting his upper body with a punch, which caused it to go *splat*.
I then picked up his dead body and used it as a baseball bat to fling swallowmen about. No encumbrance.