Do companions spend ammo? If they don't, you might as well give them both heavy gatling guns or something, and make them keep distance to you. That should keep them alive and well.
They have unlimited ammo of their own and they repair their equipment on their own. Means, put on them anything you want, forget micromanaging it.
On that note as well, why don't the companions have visible stats? I give them weapons based on what "feels" right, but it would be nice to know if they actually have better melee/range capabilities and what weapons they're better suited for.
You're overthinking it.
Forget mathematical stats, concentrate on leadership and perks (both MC's and theirs).
Remember that you can't switch SAM's equipment.
Are Greedfall and Outer Worlds really that different, so that a comparison becomes difficult to do? Both are non-open-world, have companions to support the PC, and have real-time combat. The difference is probably much smaller than, let's say, between them and Disco Elysium.
Of course, the setting is different (Sci-Fi vs. "Colonial Fantasy"). And I'd expect that Outer Worlds is probably more on the humorous side of things, compared to the rather serious tone of Greedfall. (I can't remember a single intentional joke, so far.)
Yes they are really that different, just those things you mention:
- Both
*are* openworld of unlocking areas type. The difference? From the moment you step on the island in Greedfall, you can unlock all existing areas by just reaching the connect-points (similar to Baldur's Gate), while Outer Worlds has "hardlocks" on maps where to unlock a new one you need to either solve a main story quest or a sidequest.
- You can't be companionless "lonewolf" in Greedfall till the end of the game. In Outer Worlds you can be solo all the time. Companions in Greedfall can help or ruin a dialogue outcome and your relationship with them can go positive, negative or romance, in Outer Worlds there is no companions relationship statistic nor will they ever affect the outcome of your "negotioations" (except boosting a bit some stats, but it's always MC's choice).
- In combat Outer Worlds companions have their ultimate skill to pwn hostiles and save you tons of ammo while using any weapon you equip on them where you can micromanage if they'll use only ranged or melee. Or both. In Greedfall companions won't attack any hostile you freeze in stasis and you can't equip them just anything but only things they "like".
Also, Greedfall doesn't have time slown and weak spots on trashmobs system.
It's not only what I wrote, that's just a part of differences between those two games, but I'm saying the two are simply not "same shit different wrapping" and it's very hard to compare them.
Still, both fill the emptyness on the market after Bioware and Bethesda moved their business into mmo+phone cesspool. Thanks to all the differences between the two that cover pretty much all what's desperately needed in the singleplayer RPG market. Except hairworks, but well, Cyberpunk will take care of that in the next year.