So...why was squadmate control taken away from us?

I didn't like the removal of squad tactics on the wheel but it didn't annoy me as much as removing all gear and armour options from your companions. To think Mass Effect 2 got grief for a lack of alternative armours when this game doesn't even let you change their weapons.

The reasoning behind it was probably to keep gameplay parity with multiplayer. Same reason ammo types have been relegated to consumables. All those abilities at your disposal but on consoles you can only access three at a time thanks to no power wheel.