03/30/12 - I accidentally K.O. Linda twice and also lost her during my first rune expedition....ops. So but i noticed that every time she is close to death she will crouch down and if you can give her a few minutes she will be completely healed.

12/05/11 - I accidentally nuked my follower with a destruction fireball spell. I felt bad at first, but he'd been glitched for a couple missions so I was done with him anyways =) The horse you get from doing the Dark Brotherhood quests (Shadowmere) is nearly indestructible though. It regens health super fast as I watched it tank a dragon without issue.

12/06/11 - Just like everyone else has said, if you directly (or accidentally) attack your follower, PAST THE POINT OF THEIR "DOWNED" CONDITION, you will kill them. Lydia kept getting in my way, lol! If you do pull the aggro off of your follower and finish off all the baddies, they should return to full health. Of course you could also use the "heal other" spell thats available, and prevent them from getting disabled, but wheres the fun in that?!

12/10/11 - I was curious about the dogs. Can they die?

12/03/11 - Sure they can die. Most are very difficult to kill. When they run out of health they kneel asking for mercy and/or a chance to recover. If left alone long enough or healed by you they never die. Some critters (Dragons surely) do not permit mercy or unlimited chances to recover; whereas, generic mobs will provide uncounted chances to recover. I've yet to lose a follower to a generic mob not to say it is impossible. Dungeon and Quest Followers tend to be very easy kills. This is why they ask you to escort them or assist them. Babysit them well and save often. Remember there are more than forty followers not counting the Animals or Dungeon and Quest Followers. No need to panic if one dies. Just keep on and you will find another soul to journey with. And an unnamed horse can be replaced with a new purchase at any stable.

12/03/11 - I've never lost one due to the environment such as falling or pathing into death. They take a safe route even if it is around the globe and forty days later when they catch up to you. They can die to some Mobs as stated earlier although this is not a real concern of mine. I just grab another down the road.

12/03/11 - They can die although it takes a pretty big battle to do so. My Housecarl and I were fighting a dragon and two giants (with their herd of mammoths) when she died. I think it was actually cross-fire from the dragon that got her.The barking-ass dog survived though. :)

12/17/11 - Your follower will always enter into a downed condition first no matter how hard they've been hit. They will not die unless damage has been inflicted upon them after they've entered the down state. The source of this damage can either originate from your character or the game environment. For example, I was fighting two giants near Whiterun and both used Giant Stomp simultaneously on my follower Lydia. When this attack is used on your own character, you are hurled into the air and die. However in Lydia's case, she simply entered into a down state and the giant's began to pursue me. Later during the fight, I passed by Lydia in her down state while one Giant was swinging his club. The melee attack missed my character, but it did hit Lydia and she died.

01/06/12 - I have yet to see if ANY follower has relevance to ANY quests if they die before hand will it be unable to complete? i don't know, but i only met a couple of chatty folk who'd tag along, and plenty of housecarls... my guess is housecarl's won't play a part... and perhaps if there is an "important" follower... I'd imagine they would have something important in the dialogue options as opposed to generic answers often greeted by half-hearted remarks :) which in turn earns the justification for not saving them by re-loading a previous save lol