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[mikekchar]

I'm slowly getting better at adventurer mode.  I'm at the point now where I can take on dark pits without much problem (unless I stupidly don't notice a lasher who comes up and breaks my arm, which happened, recently -- although, I was still fine as one arm is enough to get on with).  But my biggest problem is that when I go into dangerous situations, my companions are uncontrollable.  Even if I'm thinking, "OK, you're getting beat up pretty bad.  It's time to retreat and regroup", they just press on until they die.  Yeah, Dwarf Fortress....

I wouldn't mind so much because I can just solo really dangerous situations, but my biggest problem is that then I don't have a companion to avoid bogey men (I don't have them turned off...).  Maybe I can ask them to wait outside the dark pit?  Will they still be there when I get back.  The lastest time, it worked out OK because by the time the lasher broke my arm, it had already gotten on to dawn, so I had no problem fast travelling back to the town (where I regaled the drinking mound with tales of my fallen comrades).  But it kind of sucks to constantly have to get new companions (and I *do* like a companion that will argue with me -- some of them just sit there silently, which is really no fun)

[Cathar]

I'd say : take two companions, expend your group as soon as possible. Take people with shields in priority, and send off cripples back at home. Avoid massive conflicts as they tend to result in deaths/cripplings and remember to run toward engagements not to get separated from them. Thats what I do, it reduced my number of casualties. Shields are a must have.

[FakerFangirl]

Train an adventurer with swimming, climbing, dodging, and shield. Then retire and recruit him or her as an adventurer. They'll last slightly longer than your run-of-the-mill militia.

[Uzu Bash]

Just equip them as best as you can and keep them out of major melees, because they never do well against multiple armed/armored opponents. They handle themselves fine against animals up to and including megabeasts, but I'd leave them behind for dark pits because they just add to the pathing calculations and inevitably do something terminally stupid.

[peasant cretin]

Keeping companions alive is about managing their pathing and potential morale failures.

NPC pathing doesn't consider the environment. They may jump into a waterway at day's end, chasing after some critter, only to get frozen in a block of ice, or enter a waterway with rapidly changing flow amounts and drown if they haven't the swimmer levels to manage negative statuses like being winded/tired, etc.

In combat, NPCs path to their target, then presuming no morale failure, will unload attacks governed by escalation level. This means they fight everyone in one of two ways, with weapon/shield strapped or out & readied, irrespective of situation, position, or opponent type. NPCs may path into melee versus multiples, giving up side/back positioning which will result in their injury or death. If they experience a morale failure, they'll give up their back in an attempt to flee. Side and back give ups naturally result in huge bonuses to opponent attack roll; companion skill/stat training (even at extreme levels) becomes moot.

So it's all kinda about keeping them away from things.

When it comes to travel and environment, particularly waterways, the only safeguard is never dropping into slow travel near a waterway at day's end, or if approaching one when freezing isn't an issue, monitoring flow amounts and vision arcs from a 21-25 tile distance. Once you're 20 tiles or under, your companion may perk up and target some poor aquatic critter.

For combat, the only tool is having them wait to avoid bringing them into melees they'll potentially fail/disrupt.

Plenty of micromanaging fun. That all said, you can solo game a bogeymen governed world with good planning. Depending on your playstyle that's either the way to go or a deal breaker.