I'm still early game but I've just unlocked a new companion. Should I keep dogmeat or do human followers do more damage?
Fallout – Is dogmeat worth keeping as a companion
fallout-4
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Best Answer
Revised answer-
Dogmeat as a Companion
Pros
Cons
Additional Comments
Original Answer
For pure damage, Dogmeat is at a disadvantage. He cannot be geared like "real" companions. The fact you can fully deck out other humanoids should be the deciding factor for you.
Ranged companions can hit from range as well, so their overall dps will always be greater than a melee based companion, as they have no downtime(or minimal) caused by getting in range. They also won't be injured as often, as you can kill a lot before it reaches either of you.
As Chase points out in the comments, "It's worth nothing that getting a ranged companion to "tank" for you is a bit more difficult than a melee companion. Reason being, Dogmeat will be in their face most of the time so you simply have to have Dogmeat remain between you and the enemy and the enemy will often times shift focus to Dogmeat. As you can imagine, it's a longer run for the positioning with a ranged companion"
As Yorik mentions in the comment, Dogmeat can be used to 'search for items' which can find loot you've overlooked, or possibly even wasn't accessible without telling him to look. For PC, press E and then choose 'Talk' option (▲) and from there choose the search option, which I believe is ◄. He'll sniff a bit and possibly run off toward loot if there is any near.
The only other quirk to the argument, is that as of right now, Dogmeat doesn't count as a companion for the 'Lone Wolf' perk. Which can add a lot of benefits to your character once maxed. I assume this is an oversight and will be patch, but as of this message it is still true.