Personally, I think KI should make new companions to begin with... Like if you could choose who you wanted in the tutorial. Like if you could choose between two or three crew members for each character type... I think that would be interesting.
i think that would be quite interesting to but the companions we get help with the story line so lets say we choose not get ratbeard that interfeares with the storyline
If you could choose, you would automatically pick the best companions. Each class gets specific companions for a reason. For example, in the case of the swashbuckler, you get a weak first companion (Subodai) but after the tavern with Ratbeard, you get a very strong companion (Sarah Steele).