Why are the squadmates so weak? And please shut SAM up.........

It doesn't take long to max out a functional build, or two. If you intend to create numerous builds, though, of course you're going to be investing in skills you aren't currently using.

My Ryder is currently Level 96, and I'm topping off the last skill (Charge) for a Vanguard-style build. To this point, my mains have been an "Adept", a caster Engineer (using Sentinel Profile), and an occassional Tac-Cloak Infiltrator (with Turbocharge and Energy Drain). Swapping Favorites, and playstyles, isn't just of mechanical benefit. It also keeps gameplay varied. There are still several builds I've yet to try without being overly creative. I'm sure I'll think of additional builds, in time. This wouldn't be possible without the uncapped, unrestricted character advancement.

As to the main topic, regarding companions, I find that they only drop in really tough fights against heavy opponents. (I play Insanity difficulty.) In general, they're pretty good at soaking damage, priming combos, and keeping themselves in the fight. I think these companions are mechanically much better than ME2/3 companions. The only points in which they're weaker are that we can't hand them OP, DLC weapons to beat the game for us; and we can't directly control their power usage.

Yeah, I get that.

Helps for different profile setting but I'm finding that hitting level 50 plus level 5 profiles makes you pretty much unstoppable even on insanity.

So it kinda loses some punch. Maybe enemies should level up once you get to level 50.

It won't matter what's locked or unlocked. My Ryder's basically a biotic god that kills kett with a sword. How weird is that?

I'm not sure it's even the myriad skills that make things lop-sided. I think we just become so proficient with the game, at some point, that steamrolling Insanity is a given. The enemies definitely seem to level with us, or else they'd just melt under fire. Once you are fully decked in Level X gear, and have 100+ hours of gameplay behind you, though, leveling only helps so much.

I find that, at Level 96, enemies are still putting up a fight. The issue is that their resistance is futile. I shoot, combo and move too well for them to really touch me, and I rarely even lose health. (I am not optimized for survivability, either.) I can say that it's still more "sporting" than ME3 Insanity, even at Level 96. ME3 was a sad little joke, in terms of difficulty. At least these enemies seem to be trying.

They could definitely have made (or kept) Insanity on the tougher side, but it's progress from where we were 5 years ago.