Would also be nice if when you ascend/descend stairs and they aren't adjacent, they can still catch up with you (unless they're in 'wait' state), much like when you first arrive on a wilderness area they aren't there for the first turn and then it describes them arriving.

I think if quality-of-life is improved too much though, that companions should be nerfed a bit (and my suggestion of capping or slowing down their levels should also be in place, I think), as their current cumbersome handling provides an inherent, if maybe accidental, drawback. The only other drawbacks they have currently are acting as an exp sink and the potential for them to turn on you.

I remember when I read the ADOM manual back in the late 90's, and my imagined vision of a necromancer after reading the class synopsis was of him having an undead horde much like Nonnak's. Well, you sort-of can (on a smaller scale) but not really, and not practically. I'm not saying one should go that far, and maybe slaves should expire if it ever got that viable to effectively take over a level like that. But right now companions really aren't versatile, and some extra thought put into improving their versatility would not be mis-placed, in my opinion.