Which game had the better cast of companions?

I dunno about that. I think the general consensus is that they all hung out on quiet evenings at the Hanged Man. There are references to this, and also playing cards at Fenris' mansion with guardsman Donnic, Varric, Fenris, Dog, I think even Anders. Although they weren't all in one place, it was implied enough that I can "see" it and by extension, that comraderie. I think of this group as the tightest knit group because they spent ten years together. If they'd really hated each other, they wouldn't have spent time together. They stayed together by CHOICE, not NECESSITY which is what DAO and DAI have in common. A mutual desire to save the world with a limited time to do it. So, why not put up with Sera hiding your underwear? Why not grit your teeth through Morrigan's insulting biting words?

I agree about everyone being scattered at Skyhold. The place was massive and it seemed that people with either brooding, painting, training, or just plain WORKING because it's a massive organization that needs running. I don't even get the vibe that Iron Bull hangs out with people; I feel like he hangs out with the Chargers. When you get the Wicked Grace scene with Varric, the feeling is more like... he finally managed to get everyone in the same room to play a game. A fun event, but a heavily planned one on his part. Poor Varric. Misses all his old friends where he could just be like, "Hey, dropping by the Hanged Man tonight? You owe me a soveriegn."

They were together for ten years, and they helped each other, and they spent the nights in the Hanged Man. They don't needed shared apartment for a close friendship.

Morrigan has her own fire. Shale, Sten, and Wynne just stand in the Shadows. The closest these companions get is Zev, Lel, Alistair standing near the fire. Everyone almost seems to be trying to give each other as much distance as possible. There are NO references to sharing a game of cards anywhere at the camp site. There isn't even one scene where they are all interacting with each other.

DA2 at least had multiple references.

DAI, which I feel is the least close, had an actual scene of them all together and interacting at one table during Wicked Grace.

 DA:O cast were badasses all the way down.

Well, except Alistair, but you can trade him out for biggest badass of them all. It all works out in the end. 

Hawke and DA2's companions weren't a team. They were friends who occasionally did stuff together, not united by one purpose as the companions of the other games. As much as those companions weren't my favorites, I liked this aspect of DA2. It felt more natural, just like DA2's plot felt more like naturally arising from everyday life. 

For me, Dragon Age 2 definitely had the best cast of companions.  Origins had the second best cast of companions, and Inquisition had the worst cast of companions.  All of them had companions that I absolutely loved though. Origins has two of my absolute favorites, Alistair and Morrigan, plus Zevran who I also really liked. Dragon Age 2 has Anders and Varric, plus Isabela. I even really liked Carver over Bethany, although there is nothing wrong with Bethany. And Inquisition has Solas and Cole, plus Iron Bull and surprisingly Cassandra.

In Dragon Age 2, the whole crew felt like family that stayed together out of friendship, instead of a bunch of random people pulled together and forced to work with each other.  There were tons of references to them having things outside of Hawke to do, such as Fenris playing cards with Donnick and him giving Aveline a tip about a slaver ring that she goes and wipes out for him as guard captain.  Varric is mentioned as having been paying off the gangs of Darktown and the alienage to keep them off of Anders and Merill.  Not to mention the fact that Varric and Hawke were so much closer as BFFs than Varric and the Inquisitor.  

Plus, there's the fact that the only companion I didn't care for much in Dragon Age 2 was Sebastian with his holier-than-thou attitude.  And even he had some merits for recruiting him and bringing him along.  Companions I was neutral about/didn't like in Origins was Sten, Oghren, and Wynne to a certain extent.  Inquisition has Blackwall who I consider to be pretty dull even after the reveal, Sera who is incredibly crude and close-minded, and Vivienne, who holds the title of my most hated companion to the point that I might not even recruit her again.

I was definitely disappointed that Inquisition went back to the Origins style of companions, where none of them really seem to interact with each other at all outside of your character.  Quite a few of Inquisition's characters didn't even seem like they would want to be in the same room with each other if it wasn't for the Inquisitor.  They just felt more like...coworkers, I guess rather than friends.

Dragon Age OriginsInquisition. What, it's a game, look it up.

Ugh, I can't answer this question, it's too difficult to pick. Origins has muh favourite DA waifu and bestie, Inquisition has my favourite ensemble cast but Origins has muh favourite waifu and bestie but Inquisition has my favourite ensemble cast...

The Warden lost to Hawke. Which surprised me. I betcha that Revan would've beaten them all! Cause KOTOR is better than DA! (All besides for DAO though..) 

I love the companions of all of the games, but actually Origins has some of my least favorite characters. If I had to rank the games in terms of most enjoyable, most interesting companions I'd rank them thus: 

1. Inquisition
2. Awakening
3. DAII
4. Origins

I rank Origins so low, because I'm indifferent to most of the companions. Oghren is meh. Wynne is annoying. Leliana alternates between being boring and annoying. Zevran is meh. My favorites are Alistair, Morrigan, Sten, and Dog. lol 

IMO, Awakening only had Justice that was all that great. DA2 only had Isabella. DAI had some solid companions, but DAO had Shale, Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana, and Wynne. I liked each of those for different reasons, but to this day they still rank up there.

I just don't define a group's closeness by how far my character has to walk to talk with all of them. Sten, Shayle, and Morrigan are intentionally, by their very nature, being aloof and apart from the others. I can't imagine Oghren as being anything but drunk. Leliana, Alistair, and Zevran are the most outgoing, I can kind of imagine Lel and Ali having a good chat. Wynne is such an advisor she can't even be put into a "let's get drunk with my friend" role. Most of them take turns interacting directly with Dog. When Leliana sings, the group looks over, but do not draw closer. All of their banter seemed to consist of, "I was watching you from my side of camp and noticed this thing you were doing. It was interesting/cute/annoying." Never, "Hey, you owe me some Antivan Brandy. You finished off my bottle when WE were drinking last night."

DA2 is filled with such banter; references to conversations, card games, paying off the Coterie to hide mages, Aveline getting a tip from Fenris and wiping out some Slavers, and tips for Merril not to get lost on her way home. Isabella and Aveline show up at your Mansion together and get in an argument. HEll, they are constantly getting into arguments with each other and it takes up whole scenes. The fact that everyone was separate in their own places was probably due to Background Budget issues, but it's easily explained by the fact that people have a JOB outside of helping their best friend Hawke. And they all got a scene with Dog!

DAI: Cole interacts with Solas in his quest to become more spirit/human. Cass interacts with Varric in two scenes, about Hawke and her smut book. The advisors banter a bit at the War Table. IB and Dorian can get together in banter. Jose and Thomwall can get together/break up in banter. Varric forces some of the cast into a card game. They don't even drink together at the end game party! And the entire game, they are almost as far apart in Skyhold as they were in DA2, minus the loading screen time. All those goodbye conversations, and not one mention of someone saying, "Hey. AS much as Sera was a pain in the ass, I'm gonna miss her once this Inquisition is over." It was all about how they'd miss you and had a good time with you.


Anyway. I am firmly in the DA2 camp. You disagree.   I've said my peace like 3 times, so I'm getting repetitive.

I think it's one of those reasons. I know that part of my reasons is that Inquisition has more romances that doesn't make me want to throw bean bags at them (the romance, not the characters). I don't really want to get attached to Alistair because I don't want to go through the unpleasant business of dealing with having made him sleep with another woman. I can't seem to take Zevran seriously with his Puss in Boots accent and attitude, Fenris makes me want to do what someone suggested and carve "intersectionality" onto a stick and very gently wap him with it. And Anders...let's just say I feel bad for any Anders fans who love this guy and are being judged for it.