Do different NPCs make better spouses in Skyrim

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Are certain NPCs better to marry compared to others? Or do they all provide the same benefits regardless of who they are/where they're from/what they did (as long as they love me)?

Best Answer

Yes! Some NPCs make better spouses, but only as far as utility.

Spouses open up a "store" and provide you with half of the earnings (depending on the character it could be 100 to 200 gold a day). They will open up a store regardless of where you choose to live. Spouses that previously were shopkeeper NPCs have the stock of their previous shop. Spouses that didn't previously have their own shop open a "pawnbroker" type shop, which can have some nice things in it, like Ebony Ingots and enchanted apparel. Depending on who you marry, you might want/not want their previous shopkeeper stock.
Spouses that previously provided training continue to provide training after marriage (ex. Farkas). Money you pay them for training temporarily becomes part of the money pool for their buy/sell window too, if they open a shop for you.
Spouses that could previously be followers/companions will continue to have that option. Not all spouses are able to be followers (ex. Willhelm is not a follower). If you plan to have your spouse follow you, you might want to marry someone who is the class you want. (ex. Farkas is a warrior/tank, Onmund is a mage).
Spouses that previously provided quests continue to provide those quests. It might be convenient to have that questgiver live in your house instead of their previous location.

One NPC, Angrenor Once-Honored, dies naturally as part of the game unless you marry him.

Other than above, race, appearance, or gender don't make a better/worse spouse. All spouses will live with you, cook, and provide the well-loved resting bonus.

Mods or Console Commands

The mod Better Horses, can set horses to flee at the sight of combat, rather than getting involved and killed. This can be set to all horses except Frost and Shadowmere, or to all horses, including the mentioned two.

The Better Horses mod can also set your horse as 'essential' (i.e. unkillable) or increase your horse's health, preventing or lessening the chances of your horse getting killed. It also has other useful, optional horse-related features.

The mod, Better Stealth AI for Followers, claims to prevent followers from rushing into combat:

This mod improves the stealth AI for followers, so they don't rush into combat before the enemy has fully detected the player. Followers will also unequip torches while sneaking.

The mod Better Followers or Ultimate Follower Overhaul will allow you to set your NPC follower as essential, preventing them from getting killed.

Note that Better Followers and Ultimate Follower Overhaul will work for Permanent followers only and Quest followers may not be affected. Most quest followers are already set to be 'essential' though. Just be careful with those not marked as essential (see who is not set to be 'essential' here).

You could also use the setessential console command to set your horse or follower as unkillable.

Where did these NPCs go

Maramal's RefID is 00019DD5.

So I would try:

resurrect 00019DD5
player.placeatme 00019DD5
enable 00019DD5

Hofgrir Horse-Crusher's RefID is 00019DFE; the same should work for him.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Way to stop things from attacking the horse/NPCs and to pull them to me? Or Stop the horse/NPCs running off into combat

Mods or Console Commands

Where did these NPCs go

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