ArenaNet:Guild Wars 2 suggestions/Companions and Henchies in the Continuous World

(Discussion)
Alright, now think about it, can we really have 3,000 Dunkoros running around in a continuous world even if every character is only allowed to bring one? Obviously not, so, unless there is some huge and unimaginable piece of information were missing here, the continuous world makes prefab companions a nigh-impossibility. So where do our companions come from? A process similar to player character creation would probably be the simplest answer, but I’m looking forward to hearing some alternatives.

The next problem is henchies. We can’t have 3,000 Devonas any more than we can have that many Dunkoros, but henchies lack customizability by nature, so, how do we solve this problem? The simplest answer here is the very opposite of the answer to the companion problem: anonymity. Rather than bringing named henchies with us, we simply hire “Human warrior”, “Human elementalist”, and “Asura monk” to accompany us on our journey. It is rather distasteful to consider, but that’s why I’m looking forward to even more alternative solutions to this problem.

My best attempt at a solution is randomly generated characters. You could hire henchies in instanced town areas, and, when you leave, you appear outside town with a group pf characters with randomly generated features and special henchie armor. The names could be randomly taken from a large list of names compiled in a data-bank. Their characteristics could probably be determined by equations which would generate numbers using the letters in your name, that way, you would always have the same henchies following your character around all the time and as all names are unique, no two teams would be identical. The builds for such characters would be standardized according to type and their levels should probaly either match your own or be location-specific. The randomly generated numbers could also select a prefab character from a massive list of them, to prevent totally ridiculous looking characters from being generated. The race of the henchies might be location based, but I think having the random numbers determine them might be a little more interesting. This solution could also be used to give each character somewhat unique-looking companions, though I would prefer the ability to customize thier appearences.


 * Why this is a good idea
 * Could solve the problem of "Companions and Henchies in the Continuous World" without resorting to location based companions, anonymity, or monotany
 * Provides a somewhat unique set of companions and henchies to each character, maintaining the illusion of journying with the same, unique, allies


 * Why it may not work out
 * May be difficult to program and render
 * If people learned to manipulate the random number generator, it could result in some very odd names becoming popular
 * The event system, if executed properly, may eliminate the need for henchies