Where does Aela the Huntress live

If you are on PC you could try console commands. Load a previous save with Aela, open console(`) and then click on her to find out her id. Copy down the her id. Load back you latest game and use following commands:

• prid "Aela's id" (without the the quotes, "")
• moveto player

That should move Aela to your current location. (You can also probably find her id on the wiki)

If you cannot use another companion, try hiring a mercenary and then going back to a different companion. (Though I am not sure how effective this is)

Apart from that you can try waiting for sometime or fast travelling.

See Equipment AI bug (bows).

Experiment with different bows and arrows. I can get Jenassa to use a Glass bow and Glass arrows. If she runs out of arrows she reverts to her standard bow. Since I rarely have enough Glass arrows for her, I give her a large stack of Iron arrows.

Also keep in mind that the follower is oblivious to your Smithing upgrades. The follower only looks at the base damage of the equipment to decide which is better.