I'm sure I'm not the only one that in Morrowind onwards (heck, Starfield too), I always drag various followers along for the ride to avoid playing solo. In Oblivion it was weeks before I even started the main quest because I wanted to keep Sean Bean around.
I agree this isn't a key definitional point in itself, although I think it contributes to immersion and embodiment within an RPG to have relationships with friendly characters. And I think those are two key points to making a successful RPG: immersion means I believe I am in this world, embodiment means I believe I am this character. They're not discrete things, and there are many ways to serve and balance those goals. Some people's threshold (mine, if I'm honest) is quite high for when a game qualifies to become an RPG, but it seems quite subjective and it's definitely a continuum.
I agree this isn't a key definitional point in itself, although I think it contributes to immersion and embodiment within an RPG to have relationships with friendly characters. And I think those are two key points to making a successful RPG: immersion means I believe I am in this world, embodiment means I believe I am this character. They're not discrete things, and there are many ways to serve and balance those goals. Some people's threshold (mine, if I'm honest) is quite high for when a game qualifies to become an RPG, but it seems quite subjective and it's definitely a continuum.