Even though you are the Dragonborn, you can’t just go on a trip by yourself in the coldest parts of Tamriel.
Yeah, I know you did Bleak Falls Barrow on the Apprentice level by yourself. But I have a question for you:
When does the Student turn into the Teacher?
When you put on your big-kid pants and try Master or Legendary level, you’ll be begging for help when enemies take less than half the normal damage while doing double or triple the damage back to you.
To be more exact, you’ll need a tank.
Even though vanilla Skyrim has a lot of interesting and loyal followers, you’ll find the best fighters in mods.
So, if you keep getting 1hko’d in fights, these tanky followers might help.
8. Khajiit Tank Follower
The mod is designed for players who need a tank fighter to help them in battles.
The mod is demonstrated in a video and can be accessed in-game.
No further information about the mod is provided.
7. Tina Snowfall- Tank companion
The mod adds a female Nord companion who heavily relies on her shield and has a defensive-based fighting style.
She is useful for archer-type characters as she can keep enemies in one place and soak up damage.
The mod is still in the testing phase, and the creator plans to add a quest centered around her in the future.
The companion can be found in Dragonsreach and can be married in version 0.2.
The creator requests players to play test and report any bugs and to endorse and review if they like the mod.
6. Viktor – Psychotic Imperial Guard Tank
The mod involves helping a man named Viktor, who has been kicked out of the Imperial Legion, to find a lost relic from his childhood.
Viktor is a strong close-range fighter, skilled with axes and shields, but also has over 700 lines of B-movie quality dialogue where he berates the player and other NPCs.
Overall, the mod adds a new quest and a unique follower to the game with a distinct personality.
5. Housecarls Are Tanks
We’re kicking things off with a convenient and straightforward mod that will let you enjoy the firm support of a proper tank without changing the essence of Skyrim.
Not everyone wants an ultra-hot anime girl to protect them from Draugr.
Some people just want Lydia to do something other than alerting your enemies while trying to sneak around.
“Housecarls Are Tanks” dramatically expands the usefulness of every follower you were granted when becoming Thane of each hold.
Lydia, Argis, Iona, and the rest will now taunt your enemies to draw agro, and have the physical resistance to take the ensuing beating while you rain fire down on the group – your follower included.
4. Neisa – Definitive Edition
If you do want the ultra-hot anime girl, consider Neisa.
She’s a classic tanky follower whose generous cleavage is the stuff of legends.
Neisa is my ideal girl. The short, black hair and porcelain-white skin do a number on me – not to mention the angelical face and “sexy but badass” armor.
Her voice is also really charming and cute, which is only appropriate for such a delicate-looking tank.
Besides protecting you, Neisa is also willing to marry you – if you beat her in a fight.
Talk about a fun marriage proposal!
3. Kaidan 2
As far as fully voiced custom companions go, Kaidan is one of the few whose narrative resembles vanilla followers.
Instead of some complex backstory explained through a six-hour questline, he just follows you as thanks for rescuing him from prison – no questions asked.
That’s not to say he has no personality.
Kaidan’s character is revealed slowly but surely as you adventure together and interact with him on your time off.
He shines for his genius remarks and attitude – plus the voice acting is top-notch.
In all honesty, he’s not the best tank around, but he’s competent.
And you couldn’t ask for better company camping around the fire.
2. Anabella – High-Poly Tank Follower
If Kaidan shines for feeling like a vanilla follower, Anabella brings the exact opposite to the table.
This heavy-armor-loving, sword-and-shield-wielding girl is simply gorgeous, though her face clearly doesn’t belong anywhere in Tamriel.
If anything, he has the look of a Twitch streamer or a famous TikTok star.
Considering she comes from another dimension, maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised.
The reason she’s able to take such a heavy beating and keep fighting is her extensive experience – after all, she was the Dragonborn in her own world.
Now she’s here with an incredible wardrobe and tons of Health to help you forge your own legend.
1. Hoth
The Dragonborn is clearly a god among men and mer.
They’re built different!
But they’re not the only one…
Hoth is one of the most menacing followers I’ve ever seen.
This dude looks like he belongs in a Medieval Folk Metal album cover.
I can almost hear the heavy shreddin’ in the background as we brutally take out our marks – and with Hoth, you’ll never run out of marks.
That’s because Hoth is a special follower that’ll dynamically generate quests as you explore Skyrim, which he shares with you in the form of “contracts” he picked up off-camera.
Finally we have a follower that inspires as much fear as I do while walking into a bandit camp.