Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-11344160-20130717192539/@comment-3012590-20130718041947

Aw, but that "Filthy Bosmer Elf" is legit, man. Seriously, that liberal momma's boy ain't got nothin' on him :(

I aided Sven on my first character, too, but I like Faendal more now. He's just a more serious kinda guy, and is a better fighter overall. Besides, he can train your Dragonborn u to Lv10 or so for free if you do the exploit early as possible in the game.

To answer the question of the thread, I guess "sometimes" has to be the answer. I do tend to give my followers random items and forget about them when I dismiss them. I did gift Serana her father's sword, and usually give better weapons to Followers I no longer use, because it's the only visual thing that changes on them.