For All the Complaining About Immersion Breakers, I've Never Heard...

...Criticism for immortal companions and other NPCs?

Maybe it's just from my background in older RPGs (including Fallouts 1 and 2), but nothing is more jarring than having an NPC nuked and walk it off. From a gameplay perspective, it's extremely intrusive. "Hello, romantic partner and comrade in arms! Since you've pledged your eternal loyalty to me, as a result of our travels and innumerable battles fought and won... would you mind walking into the middle of that obvious supermutant city, to, you know, see what happens?" In the past, managing the survival of VIPs and traveling partners was a major factor, and sometimes a quest objective, that's completely absent here.

I realize this would cause trouble given the current state of AI, but it should at least be an option, or tied to difficulty level. I'm sure there's a mod for that, but without coding in a healthier self-preservation instinct, it would be really hard to play that way unless you solo.

Minor rant complete.