Fallout – Do NPC’s in Fallout 4 know how to use mines

Piper uses a standard 10mm pistol. I crafted a much stronger one to give to her hoping she would use it instead of her normal 10mm. unfortunately when i equiped it to her she pulled it out, then when we got into combat went back to her default 10mm :(

Select your favorite explosive, and hold down your melee button for a while. You should hear a clicking noise on success before throwing.

The defaults are:

• XBOX: RB
• PS4: R1
• PC: Alt

After releasing, you throw the explosives. It seems you can hold grenades for a long while.

If you do a melee attack, try holding it longer. As soon as you have run out of grenades, pressing and holding the button will trigger a melee attack even if you are standing miles away from a foe.

I haven't figured out how to throw them in VATS mode; it doesn't seem possible.