Skyrim: Best Follower Mods (2024)

Adiba Chowdhury
By Adiba Chowdhury
17 Min Read
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Get the most out of your potential Followers in Skyrim by using these fantastic mods!

Throughout the course of your Dragonborn adventure, you will meet and befriend many interesting NPCs. While they mostly give you various quests, some may even offer to join you as a Follower.

These Followers become your traveling companions and fight alongside you. Moreover, they can also carry out specific tasks on your behalf, carry your equipment, and more. That said, the Followers you recruit are more than just your personal bodyguards.

Followers have unique personalities and dialogues that make them stand out from the rest of the NPCs in the game. Not only that, but you can even marry your Followers and lead a happily married life with them. If you’re curious about the marriage options in Skyrim, you can check out our extensive guides on the best husbands and wives in the game.

Although the vanilla selection of Skyrim Followers is good in its own right, their capabilities have some severe limitations. That’s why modders worldwide have come up with several utility mods to improve and enhance Skyrim’s Follower system. Moreover, they have also created some of the most realistic and unique Followers for you to recruit in the game.

Read More: Top 50 Best Skyrim Special Edition Mods

Top 10 Best Follower Mods in Skyrim

Below are all the best Follower Mods you can get in Skyrim Special Edition.

10. Amazing Follower Tweaks

10. Amazing Follower Tweaks
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Aside from being one of the best Follower mods, the Amazing Follower Tweaks is a must-have Skyrim mod for those wanting to improve their gameplay experience. This mod allows you to control every aspect of your Follower’s life – starting from where they live, to the outfits they wear, along with the spells and combat style they use in battle.

Moreover, you can also have up to 5 followers at a time – meaning you can take an entire party to battle. Furthermore, it enhances your Followers’ AI to be more intelligent so that they can ride horses, set up camp, and detect and avoid traps. But that’s not all. This mod also allows you to turn your Followers into Vampires and Werewolves, granting them superhuman abilities.

9. Interesting NPCs

9. Interesting NPCs
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Character interactions can feel dull if they keep repeating the same lines repeatedly in true NPC fashion. However, that problem is solved with the Interesting NPCs mod, as it adds over 250 fully voiced characters in Skyrim using over 80 voice actors.

They all come with unique backstories, quests, and a full-fledged dialogue tree. You’ll find over 25 recruitable Followers and 15 marriage options among these NPCs.

Moreover, 8 of the Followers from this mod are also dubbed as ‘Super Followers’ as they wear capes and can fly around like superheroes. Furthermore, they each come with over 1,000 lines of dialogue, commenting on major quests and locations in the game.

Since the mod is constantly improving, more dialogues are expected to be added in the future so your followers can provide commentary on every quest in the game. This will add more character depth and dimension to your traveling companions.

8. UFO: Ultimate Follower Overhaul

8. UFO: Ultimate Follower Overhaul
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

The UFO: Ultimate Follower Overhaul mod is a bundled package of all the best Follower mods you could ask for. It’s also one of the most downloaded mods on NexusMods’ website.

This nifty mod not only fixes the bugs from the original game but also adds new features to the Follower system, giving players more accessibility to Follower commands. For starters, your max Follower limit is raised to 15, meaning you can have up to 15 NPCs accompanying you simultaneously.

Moreover, the mod also adds a custom dialogue branch through which you can command your Followers to level up, change irremovable gear and outfits to regular ones placed in their inventory, learn or forget a spell, and more. In addition to that, you can also issue group commands to multiple Followers at a time.

Furthermore, the mod also adds 8 Follower horses for your traveling companions to ride. Lastly, some miscellaneous tweaks have also been added in this mod, such as – removing the max level cap on vanilla Followers, adding the dual-wielding skill to all Followers, and more.

7. Familiar Faces

7. Familiar Faces
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Have you ever wondered what having your past versions as Followers would be like? Imagine a multiverse of madness where all the Dragonborn characters you created in past playthroughs come together and join you in the current one. This mod serves precisely that purpose.

The Familiar Faces mod will allow you to bring over your previously-created characters and serve as faithful allies in your current world. This is one of Skyrim’s most unique Follower mods, allowing you to traverse across Skyrim with different versions of yourself.

You can also bring these characters and have them fight each other to see which version of you is the strongest. This mod is a must-have for players wanting the most personalized companions.

6. Eryniel

6. Eryniel
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Eryniel is an entirely new character belonging to the Epic Elf Race. Featuring platinum blonde hair and fair skin, with a flower tattoo that spreads over her temple, nose, and cheekbones, Eryniel is easily one of the best-looking female Followers you can get in Skyrim. And she’s marriageable, too!

On top of being an ethereal beauty, she is also a pretty powerful Spriggan Mage. She can perform over 35 customized spells that are specifically made for her and don’t exist in the main game. Moreover, Eryniel is also a skilled archer, with her combat strategy focusing on flank, stalk, and magic attacks.

Eryniel is a standalone character mod, so it doesn’t need to be supported by any other mods to work. Her primary skills are Light Armor, One-handed, Archery, Block, and Sneak. In contrast, her secondary skills include Conjuration, Destruction, Restoration, and Alteration. You can find her hanging around by the bridge going out of Riverwood.

5. Vilja

5. Vilja
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Hardcore Skyrim fans might remember Vilja from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, where she was a Nord alchemist companion. Now, her great-great-grandaughter is ready to take up Skyrim by storm with her music and dynamic personality.

Vilja is a fully-voiced Bard whom you can recruit as your Follower. She is extremely talkative and curious and has a bubbly personality that can lift anyone’s spirits. In addition to having over 9,000 voiced dialogues, Vilja also plays 28 custom music tracks.

Moreover, she has an interesting backstory and a highly rewarding quest line. So players will not get bored with having Vilja around. Not to mention, she also has a romance route and can be married.

However, given her vibrant personality, simply having the Amulet of Mara on you is not enough to impress her. You will first have to gain her trust, develop your friendship and make her fall in love before being able to bring up talks of marriage. And when you get married, Vilja’s entire family will attend the ceremony to celebrate the occasion.

4. Arissa – The Wandering Rogue

4. Arissa – The Wandering Rogue
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

If you want a free-spirited, rebel-hearted Follower who has no problem bending the law, look no further. Arissa is an Imperial-born thief who can accompany the Dragonborn throughout their entire journey. With over 600 professionally-voiced dialogues, Arissa is able to fit into the world seamlessly.

Arissa gets her “Wandering Rogue” title from traversing across Skyrim for a decade. This makes her a knowledgeable companion to travel with, as she will often make interesting remarks about the places you visit together.

Moreover, she has a short yet impactful storyline featuring a two-part main questline and a brand-new dungeon. This makes getting to know her all the more worthwhile.

Furthermore, she is an Essential character, meaning she can’t die. However, she might still permanently leave your side if you resort to cannibalism. That said, she has no problem with you being a Vampire or Werewolf.

Since Arissa is a rouge-type character, she specializes in dual-wielding combat. Her primary skills include Light armor, One-handed, and Lockpicking, which makes her the perfect thief.

3. Hoth

3. Hoth
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Hoth is a Nordic Bounty Hunter feared by monsters and men alike due to his intimidating aura. After all, he wears his kill trophies as outfits to make a fashion statement. Apart from being a seasoned bounty-hunting adventurer, Hoth is a fully-voiced Follower who can accompany you on your adventures.

Hoth offers everything from a unique questline, appearance, gear, and lore-friendly background story. His character was intricately created to give players a fully customized Follower experience. Players can recruit him from the Moorside Inn in Morthal.

He is easily one of the best traveling companions you can recruit in Skyrim. That’s because he can devastate enemies with his brute force and won’t hold you back in battle. Hoth uses his own unique two-handed weapon that cannot be found anywhere in Skyrim. In fact, all of his gear is custom-made and cannot be transferred to the player’s inventory using other mods or cheats.

In addition to being an excellent fighter, Hoth is also the only Skyrim companion to generate quests based on the player’s location dynamically. He will offer never-ending, area-specific bounty quests based on the places you visit – so you will never run out of things to kill, no matter where you go.

To take things one step further, Hoth can also give you quests from the new locations added through other mods. This makes Hoth a truly unique Follower in Skyrim Special Edition.

2. Sofia — The Funny Fully Voiced Follower

2. Sofia — The Funny Fully Voiced Follower
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Sofia is a fully-voiced, hilarious human companion you can recruit from the Whiterun stables. She is beautiful, quirky, rebellious, and just a tad bit arrogant. Sofia will make your travels ten times more enjoyable with her witty remarks and reactions, making her one of the best Skyrim Follower Mods in history.

Since Sofia is entirely location and quest-aware, she will give unique reactions to the places you visit and the events of the main quests. This also extends to bounty hunts. Moreover, Sofia tends to make fun of other NPCs, which often leaves people flustered or embarrassed.

In addition to lively character interactions, Sofia has a realistic response to consuming alcohol. Meaning her voice will change to sounding drunk when you give her alcohol. This adds a whole new dimension to NPC interactions that no other mod offers.

Furthermore, she will sing the wrong lyrics to songs she doesn’t know well. This makes her character highly realistic and natural-feeling. And, of course, you can marry her once you’ve developed her relationship enough. That said, you can’t force her to get married. Instead, she will drop an obvious hint when she feels like settling down with you.

But that’s not all she has to offer. As funny and lively as she may be, Sofia can get serious in battle. She is a pretty strong fighter and can fend for herself by wielding a one-handed weapon in one hand and casting destruction magic with the other. Not to mention, she’s an excellent huntress! So, you can’t go wrong with her.

1. Inigo

1. Inigo
Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Now, for the best Follower mod in Skyrim Special Edition, we have picked Inigo. This legendary Skyrim mod allows you to recruit a fully-voiced Khajiit Follower with over 7,000 unique dialogues.

Inigo is a Sneak master who makes no sound when he moves and skilfully avoids traps. Moreover, he is also intelligent enough to whisper when you speak to him while sneaking. Furthermore, he displays realistic behavior and can run out of arrows like a regular person. In addition, he will level alongside you. This adds a touch of realism to his character.

While on the topic of realistic behavior, Inigo will have a wide range of things to discuss with you. And instead of making idle chatter at predetermined intervals, Inigo will only respond to things worth reacting to. This means he will be really chatty on eventful days and quieter on less eventful days. That said, he can go on for hours if you want to know how he and Mr. Dragonfly met!

As for combat styles, Inigo can switch between ranged attacks using bows and close combat using melee weapons. His combat AI is smart enough to change his fighting style based on the enemy’s distance. His primary skills include Archery, Sneak, and One-Handed, and he excels at using a bow.

Although he doesn’t have the most robust storyline, Inigo makes up for it with his friendly charm. He will tell you stories, sing songs and even improvise lyrics on the spot. Moreover, he will also be influenced by the time you spend together.

In other words, he will be a true companion to you in every sense of the word, making Inigo the best Follower Mod to get.

Do you wish to learn more about Skyrim? Then check out our other guides on All Console Commands & CheatsAll Guilds and FactionsBest Skyrim BuildsBest Skyrim Husbands, Best Skyrim Wives, Best Skyrim Factions, and more.

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By Adiba Chowdhury Deputy Evergreen Editor
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Adiba Chowdhury is the Deputy Editor of the Evergreen section at GameRiv. Adiba is an avid gamer, artist, and anime lover. She expresses her love for RPGs, JRPGs, and Action Adventure games by writing about evergreen titles with lasting impressions for GameRiv.