honestly the reason Dragon Age 2 is so good was because those characters really felt like your friends. Having the game span seven years is a big factor in this but just the way they were written, the way they stumbled into Hawke and then suddenly fit so well in ’re narrative without it feeling forced was a great. They all maintain their independence, they don’t follow Hawke blindly but are absolutely ready to throw hands with Meredith because they love Hawke, they’re Hawkes friends and it’s more believable they’re willing to sacrifice their lives for someone they genuinely like instead of following some Chosen One blindly into battle.

Dragon Age Origins has believable friendships too but in my opinion it still largely falls under the “follow the Chosen One” trope, whereas Inquisition feels a little forced with the friendships and they seem more like colleagues but the companion-protag relationship in DA2 11/10 and that will always be Dragon Age 2s strongest plus