Skyrim followers can range from crucial story characters to battle-hardy brutes with strong fists, each serving their own purpose in your adventure across Tamriel. So, whether you’re looking for a fighter, a lover, or someone to carry your bags, we’re here to help you locate and recruit the right companion for you.
Though, if it is a lover you’re looking for, you may also want to check out our Skyrim marriage guide, as well as our guide to Skyrim houses so you have somewhere to settle down and start your own family (or somewhere to store all that stuff you made your follower carry – we don’t judge).
Here’s everything in our Skyrim followers guide:
All Skyrim followers
Below, you can find a list of all Skyrim companions, where to find them, and the requirements you must meet to recruit them as your new pal. There are almost one hundred followers, so strap in – this is a long one.
Some of the required quests below involve decisions. It should go without saying, but don’t make a decision that goes against the Skyrim follower you want to join you. For example, you can’t have Cicero as a follower if you kill him in the quest The Cure for Madness, obviously – well, unless you decide to use Skyrim mods to resurrect him, that is.
| Follower | Location | Requirements |
| Adelaisa Vendicci | Solitude | Rise in the East |
| Aela the Huntress | Whiterun | Companions questline |
| Agmaer | Fort Dawnguard | Prophet |
| Ahtar | Solitude | Kill the Bandit Leader |
| Annekke Crag-Jumper | Darkwater Crossing | Kill the Bandit Leader |
| Arachnia (creation club) | Cronvangr Cave | Pets of Skyrim |
| Aranea Ienith | Shrine of Azura | The Black Star |
| Argis the Bulwark | Markarth | Thane of the Reach |
| Armored Frost Troll | Fort Dawnguard | Purchase from Gunmar |
| Armored Troll | Fort Dawnguard | Purchase from Gunmar |
| Athis | Whiterun | Companions questline |
| Beleval | Fort Dawnguard | Prophet |
| Belrand | Solitude | Hire for 500 gold |
| Benor | Morthal | Fight! Fight! |
| Bone Wolf (creation club) | Folgunthur | Let Sleeping Wolves Lie |
| Borgakh the Steel Heart | Mor Khazgur | Speechcraft check |
| Bran | Fort Dawnguard | A New Order |
| Brelyna Maryon | College of Winterhold | Brelyna’s Practice |
| Calder | Windhelm | Thane of Eastmarch |
| Celann | Fort Dawnguard | Prophet |
| Cicero | Dawnstar Sanctuary | Hail Sithis! |
| Cosnach | Markarth | Buy a Drink/Fight! Fight! |
| Cusith | Volkihar | Join Volkihar vampires |
| Dark Brotherhood Initiate (female) | Dawnstar Sanctuary | Dark Brotherhood questline |
| Dark Brotherhood Initiate (male) | Dawnstar Sanctuary | Dark Brotherhood questline |
| Demented Elytra Numph (creation club) | Seducers bandit camp | Balance of Power |
| Derkeethus | Darkwater Pass | Extracting an Argonian |
| Durak | Fort Dawnguard | Prophet |
| Dwarven Armored Mudcrab (creation club) | Markarth | My Pet Mudcrab |
| Eola | Markarth | The Taste of Death |
| Erandur | Dawnstar | Waking Nightmare |
| Erik the Slayer | Rorikstead | Erik the Slayer |
| Faendal | A Lovely Letter | Riverwood |
| Farkas | Whiterun | Companions questline |
| Frea | Skaal Village | The Fate of Skaal |
| Garmr | Volkihar | Join Volkihar vampires |
| Ghorbash the Iron Hand | Dushnikh Yal | Speechcraft check |
| Golldir | Hillgrund’s Tomb | Ancestral Worship |
| Gregor | Dawnstar | Thane of the Pale |
| Hand Ethra Mavandas (creation club) | Ashfall’s Tear | Ghosts of the Tribunal/Ashen Heart |
| Hand Kydren Indobar (creation club) | Ashfall’s Tear | Ghosts of the Tribunal/Ashen Heart |
| Hilda (creation club) | Rorikstead | Pets of Skyrim |
| Illia | Darklight Tower | Repentance |
| Ingjard | Fort Dawnguard | Prophet |
| Jenassa | Whiterun | Hire for 500 gold |
| Jordis the Sword-Maiden | Solitude | Thane of Haafingar |
| J’zargo | College of Winterhold | J’zargo’s Experiment |
| Khario | Dawnstar/Riften | Amulet of the Moon |
| Lob | Largashbur | The Cursed Tribe |
| Lona | Riften | Thane of the Rift |
| Lydia | Whiterun | Dragon Rising |
| Manic Elytra Nymph (creation club) | Saints bandit camp | Balance of Power |
| Marcurio | Riften | Hire for 500 gold |
| Meeko | Meeko’s Shack | Talk to him |
| Mjoll the Lioness | Riften | Grimsever’s Return |
| Njada Stonearm | Whiterun | Companions questline |
| Nix-Hound (creation club) | Revus Sarvani’s camp/The Retching Netch | My Pet Nix-Hound |
| Ogol | Largashbur | The Cursed Tribe |
| Onmund | College of Winterhold | Onmund’s Request |
| Ralis Sedarys | Kolbjorn Barrow | Unearthed |
| Rayya | Falkreath | Thane of Falkreath |
| Ria | Whiterun | Companions questline |
| Riekling Warrior | Thirsk Mead Hall | The Chief of Thirsk Hall |
| Roggi Knot-Beard | Kynesgrove | Dungeon Delving (Caves) |
| Rulnik Wind-Strider (creation club) | Whiterun | A Dying Wish |
| Sceolang | Fort Dawnguard | A New Order |
| Serana | Awakening | Dimhollow Cavern |
| Skritch (creation club) | Riften | Pets of Skyrim |
| Steadfast Dwarven Sphere | Kagrumez | The Kagrumez Gauntlet |
| Steadfast Dwarven Spider | Kagrumez | The Kagrumez Gauntlet |
| Stenvar | Windhelm | Hire for 500 gold |
| Stray Dog | Random encounter | Talk to it |
| Sven | Riverwood | A Lovely Letter |
| Sweet Bol (creation club) | Half-Moon Mill | Pets of Skyrim |
| Talvas Fathryon | Tel Mithryn | From the Ashes |
| Teldryn Sero | Raven Rock | Hire for 500 gold |
| Thistle (creation club) | Alchemist’s Shack | Pets of Skyrim |
| Torvar | Whiterun | Companions questline |
| Ugor | Largashbur | The Cursed Tribe |
| Uthgerd the Unbroken | Whiterun | Fight! Fight! |
| Valdimar | Morthal | Thane of Hjaalmarch |
| Vesparth the Toe (creation club) | Tribunal Temple | Ghosts of the Tribunal |
| Vigilance | Markarth stables | Hire for 500 gold |
| Vilkas | Whiterun | Companions questline |
| Vorstag | Markarth | Hire for 500 gold |
| Watchman Sindra (creation club) | Tribunal Temple | Ghosts of the Tribunal |
Skyrim followers equipment
You can trade items with your follower by simply talking to them. If you want to give them better equipment, just ask them to carry it. You can’t force them to use it, but most of the time, Skyrim companions use the best items in their inventory.
You can also use them as a mule, as it were (“I am sworn to carry your burdens”, as Lydia dryly states). Give them all your heavy dragon bones and whatnot and you’re good to keep walking at full speed.
My Skyrim follower disappeared
If your Skyrim companion disappears, there are a few things you can try to fix it:
- Find a new follower, ask them to join you, and then go back to where the original follower lives to find them and recruit them again
- Fast travel to your last destination
- Sleep in a bed
- Restart the game
In general, the first of these options has always worked for me in my more-than-a-decade of playing this game on a way-too-regular basis, but the other options act as a solid back-up plan.
Can Skyrim followers die?
Most Skyrim companions can die when not following you, other than the essential ones. If a battle starts in an area with one of these followers not actively attached to you, be careful.
Once companions are following you, they won’t die easily. Instead, when their health drops low, the follower becomes incapacitated. In this state, they can still die, but the enemy will stop targeting them. Once incapacitated, you need to move the fight away from them to avoid them getting caught in any AoEs or crossfire.
You can, however, kill your follower by your own hand. This means you too need to be careful where you’re swinging. The number of times I personally have killed a follower while playing a ranged build is more than I’m happy to admit. If you’re super worried about this, just be sure to save often.
There you have it, all the Skyrim companions or Skyrim followers or whatever you want to call them. We’ve got more, too, with Skyrim maps, Skyrim cure vampirism, and Skyrim creation club guides.