Do you like your party members having spells, abilities, and items that you can't?

Absolutely. I know there's one member in this forum who'll vehemently disagree with this topic, but IMO it only makes sense that party members would have their own unique traits and talents that they bring to the table since they're from different backgrounds (I presume). It's why I really want party members in DA4 to have unique specializations like in DA2 and why I disliked how DAI handled such matters.

On principle I think it's a cool idea to have companions who have their own unique abilities. Especially those who are from more distant cultures.

At the end of the day though... I'm fine with it either way.

Me too. I really liked the way it was done in DA2 since it made each person more unique. Even abilities that technically could be the same as what Hawke uses have a different name and description, which fit the character.

One of the dumbest things in DAI was Cass telling us point blank that her Seeker abilities are different from Templar abilities. And then they gave her the Templar spec with no unique Seeker anything.

The darkspawn had crossbows in DA2. They seem to be back to bows in DAI.

Sharing really isn't a darkspawn virtue. Unless it's the Blight. They love to share that.

While I agree with the idea, these particular spells are not the best examples. Or, I suppose it depends on your views of mages and their training. A human mage that was educated in the Circle would have the same background in education as Dorian and Vivienne: formal training in magic that is based around certain philosophies. I doubt the basic training Dorian received in Tevinter is very much different from that in the South, despite the different attitude toward magic in general.

I think the DA2 method was the best compromise. There were basic skills that everyone had access to, and then specialized skills that were unique to the follower. Fenris should know how to sunder and cleave, just as Carver does, but has his own abilities derived from the markings.

I expect a human Circle-trained mage, a Tevitner altus mage, a Dalish mage, a qunari mage (Qunari or Tal'Vashoth), and an Avvar mage to all be able to cast a fireball. But there should be certain disciplines or skills that each of those have from their unique cultures and circumstances. Similarly, I would have liked to see this in DAO, with only Morrigan having the ability to shapeshift, Alistair his templar abilities, Wynne with her spirit tree, Leliana as bard, and so on.

On the occasion that I played a rift mage in DAI, I was disappointed that Solas had the exact same spells. The Breach and the Anchor are unique things that felt lesser because someone else had them. That spec more than the others suffered from that feeling, whereas I think it's possible to learn necromancy or the knight enchanter skills.

FWIW, for purely gameplay reasons I personally would prefer all characters to have completely unique ability sets... BUT this is usually a scope/budget concern which is why you're normally more likely to see overlap than not.

As for the in game explanation for why one person can do something another can't... well I won't touch that because that's not my area of expertise

Definitely. I think it makes things more interesting when companions have their own unique abilities - I found it disappointing that Cassandra's abilities were exactly the same as the Templar skills the Inquisitor could learn even though she's a Seeker of Truth and not a Templar. In DA2 the companion specialisations were generally less powerful than Hawke's, but they were fun and Wynne's special ability in Origins was really cool.

I dunno, there was that bit of scrapped dialogue where Varric described mage Hawke as "an archmage without peer... a god among mortal men." I never got the impression that Anders was stronger than Hawke. Just... more possessed.

And of course that all depends on how you define strength and power. I wouldn't bet against Anders in a healing contest, for example.

Not talking about Fenris - he's like a Berserker/Templar hybrid who's designed to rip people apart, very dangerous, no doubt he's a threat.

I figure abominations are dangerous not just because they have that extra boost of power, but because they've got a demon in their head influencing or outright controlling what they do. But it's also what makes them weaker mages, because if they were really strong on their own merit they wouldn't have had to turn to demons for help in the first place. (That's not how Anders came to share headspace with Justice, but I mean abominations in general.)

I don't doubt that Anders is more powerful than your average mage, I just don't think he's stronger than Hawke.