JFarrell71
SasqWatch
The companions aren't evil. The fact that they don't immediately love you is only realistic: you just met, and under less than ideal circumstances. It allows Larian to actually show the development of the relationships between the characters. I'm 100% sure the plot doesn't end with you all hating each other's guts.
As far as your party being locked in, I don't love it, but it doesn't seem like a big deal if you take a step back for a minute. For one thing, it seems like there are only five companions anyway. Is that not true? Not just for EA, but for the game as a whole. I tend to keep the same characters throughout a game because I want to see all of their content, and if I replay I can use different ones and see different stuff. So forcing it on me, though that may grate a bit, doesn't impact my game much. Hopefully there's a plot justification.
As far as your party being locked in, I don't love it, but it doesn't seem like a big deal if you take a step back for a minute. For one thing, it seems like there are only five companions anyway. Is that not true? Not just for EA, but for the game as a whole. I tend to keep the same characters throughout a game because I want to see all of their content, and if I replay I can use different ones and see different stuff. So forcing it on me, though that may grate a bit, doesn't impact my game much. Hopefully there's a plot justification.