The moment I met my (Skyrim) pet dog, Meeko, I was in love. Wandering alone near a forest shack where his former owner - of whom we shall not speak - lay perished, the fluffy mutt with big, doleful eyes needed a saviour; a companion to follow into battle and accompany at tavern hearths. I was overjoyed to step up.
So much so that, hundreds of hours later (I won't reveal quite how many hundreds), he's still there, hovering contentedly at my side at every moment. The reason for - and cost of - this, though, is many lost hours of gameplay. Many. Unfortunately, while the enchanting, ever-keen Meeko is a pretty ferocious ally in my Dovahkiin's fight against dragons, Dremora, and endless bloody draugr - bounding into battles with all the bravado of a fresher three Jägerbombs down - he's also really good at being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
On more than a few occasions, as I've been earnestly plugging away at bandits with my ebony bow, the little darling's leapt in front of my target just in time to absorb a killing blow. His 250 health sadly can't withstand a bolt fired by my level 100 archer. Sigh.
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