I agree with everything you said. I keep starting over, because that's my thing, or I would have been done ages ago. The thief is kinda useless but I'm going to have him focus as a ranger for the most part as my own character (this time) is a ftr/thief. You can multiclass and fighter/thief doesn't require massive xp compared to solo classes. You can take three classes total but you might not get very high level that way.
I've mentioned it before but there is a ton of content for a "test". Over a dozen maps that I've found now and I'm guessing you can get to level 6 or 7 if you have a solo class. I'm not sure because I keep restarting
@booboo; There are lanterns that can be bought at one or more of the traders. These are drying items too I think. They're kinda expensive, so you may have forgotten/not noticed them.
As far as companions go, everyone gets full experience from fights, so there is no reason to wait before grabbing the npcs. Basically this is right after the 2nd map. The game opens up at that point and the 4 companions are all near the main city of Isilbright.
BTW, you can murder citizens, but this will cause every faction to become hostile and send endless encounters until you die. I had two fighters when I tested this and I actually won two rounds against elite guards before fleeing and running into more on the next map. I wiped soon after
