Agreed that the interaction with our companions in TLH2 is greatly reduced compared to TLH1 - except for in the case of whichever of them we romance. Then again, regarding this, Lucid has pointed out that the circumstances have sort of changed by the time the sequel rolls around - you’re no longer out adventuring and have all the time in the world to interact with your friends, but are rather busy getting gathering allies and getting your newly-restored kingdom ready to kick the bad guy’s asses, which leaves less time for interacting with the companions…