Lydia (Skyrim)

 is a follower obtained in Dragonsreach upon completion of the Dragon Rising quest in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. She receives the title of Housecarl from Jarl Balgruuf the Greater, after the Dragonborn is promoted to the title of Thane. As Housecarl, she is sworn to protect the Dragonborn with her life. Despite being listed as marriable in the strategy guide, it isn't possible to marry Lydia without the use of console commands, meaning there is no possible way to marry her on consoles. This is probably an error by the authors of the guide.

Follower
Lydia can die if she does not get the opportunity to heal herself when knocked down. This can happen if she gets caught in a Dragon attack, or if she is mobbed by enemies who attack simultaneously.

If the Dragonborn and Lydia part ways, she returns to Dragonsreach or Breezehome. If enough time was spent with her, she gifts the Dragonborn with an item upon reuniting with her.

Combat Behavior and Skills
Lydia is focused mainly as a warrior character. She will favor Heavy Armor and Two-Handed weapons, but will use any so long as it beats the Current base armor or damage rating of what she is currently using. As with some other Melee-oriented followers, she has tendency to simply rush into combat which unless babysat accordingly, may lead to her death. She also has a pathetic sneak skill, alerting enemies to her presence nearly immediately. Stealth orriented players will want to have her wait somewhere out of sight before entering a room where you are attempting sneak attacks. She can use spell scrolls and staves, but other forms of magic are beyond her ability.

Equipment
Lydia's default armor is steel armor, boots, gauntlets, and shield. She only uses the shield if the best melee weapon in her inventory is One-Handed. She does not equip a helmet, but she can if she is given one. She equips armor given to her as well, if its armor rating surpasses that of her default equipment. She also wears any ring or necklace given her by the Dragonborn, which can be useful due to the added effects these items may have.

Lydia's default weapon is a Steel sword. If her sword is removed or if opponents are out of melee range, she uses a Hunting Bow, with an infinite supply of what appear to be iron arrows (the arrows cannot be collected by the player). Similar to her melee weapon and armor, she can be given stronger arrows, also with an infinite supply (these can be collected) and a stronger bow.

Bugs

 * Sometimes, if seriously injured in combat, she will crawl and continue to crawl even after combat has concluded, despite full health. To fix this, fast-travel to another location or restart the game from the desktop. or if unlocked, use Unrelenting Force on her. (PC, 360, PS3)
 * (360) Giving her a stronger bow, such as an enchanted Daedric Bow, will not cause her to equip it. Instead she will continue to use her original hunting bow (PC: if the stronger bow is not enchanted she will use it).
 * Sometimes when she is killed she can randomly appear dead in rooms when you buy a house and also randomly appear dead once you are in a wedding ceremony with another NPC, which will force the person you are about to marry to leave and dislike you. However, there is a way to fix this. Go to console, enter a2c94.resurrect and then you can marry anyone you want. She will return to Dragonsreach, and will be a hireable companion again.
 * To fix the randomly apperance of her body, simply wait a week or so and stay around the are where her body was killed until it has finally disappeared, thus allowing you to marry a NPC.
 * (PC, 360) Sometimes if you fire her and then rehire her after following her to a different room the equipment you gave her will be unequipped until you fast travel, you exit the current room you are in, or you add/remove something from her inventory. (PC) This can also happen when she is temporarily replaced as a follower by Farkas during the Proving Honor quest. When you return to Whiterun to retrieve her, she is wearing her default gear rather than the equipment you gave her.
 * There is a bug related to companions' stats, which aren't updated on leveling (followers have the same level as player). There is a workaround (PC): Dismiss and wait until "Follower dismissed message", open console, select follower with mouse an type "disable" (without quotes), then type "enable". This is inventory-safe, and followers have no penalty for being dismissed, so you can hire them again for free.
 * In the quest to defend Whiterun from the Stormcloaks, Lydia will follow you out of Dragonsreach, but willl not follow you out of the city to help defend the drawbridge.
 * If fired, she will return to Breezehome. It is possible to have her stuck in a chair upstairs eating. If you ask to travel together, she will get up out of the chair and then sit back in the chair. This can be stopped if the player asks her to do something and the told to wait somewhere away from the chair.