I am fully aware that the bartender uses a slot. I also see the bartender is not a traditional craftsman, due both to how he is obtained, and that he is chatty.

When it comes to crafter thralls, having them added to the follower total makes no sense. Questions have to be answered.

If we will not be able to knock out thralls in the wild (as noted earlier), then…
1] What is the purpose of the taskmaster? The wheel? Gibbet?
2] Will the named thralls be removed from locations in the world? If not, why not? They serve no purpose.
3] The emphasis on the three skills of the blacksmith, carpenter, priest, etc., makes it ridiculously difficult to get them without an overhaul of the frequency in purges. As it is, level 10 purges yield four thralls, Isscar, and a bartender.
4] What happens to all the new items related to the capturing of thralls? I mean the Stygian bindings, Szeth’s truncheon, and the one from the Midnight Grove? They will serve no purpose. What happens to them?

If the only way to get thralls is by way of the purge or bar, then…
1] How exactly will the additional server load be handled from everyone running purges to find that Shieldwright?
2] Are we supposed to believe that Fia just walks into our bar for a drink after she and every Nordheimer tries to kills us on sight? I mean, Dalinsia walked in, but she could not be hired. At least she hasn’t torn the place up yet.

If, as noted earlier, thralls will not be an item you can carry around, then there is only one question.
What happens to thralls already in storage?
I tend to give players thralls when I can. We have a large inventory. We have thralls that are not available anymore, such as the old look Dalinsia, Fia, and Senk, and ones that just aren’t there anymore like the Captain. We also keep an extra armorer on the bench to switch between lighter and higher HP armor. How do we do that?

The final question, based on all of the above.
Do the crafters, when placed on the bench, count towards the total followers?
If so, then…
1] STOP MAKING NEW BENCHES.
2] There are roughly 10 benches that require thralls for better operation. However, in order ro take advantage of the Garrison and Campaign armor bench, you need an improved to make non epic armor for illusions, unless that’s changed. I haven’t checked to be honest. You can get by with 5 crafters for those benches by moving them around. It makes it hard to do two things at once. And, there is the issue of the specialized skill crafter. But why use a crafter? Resource usage and better stats on crafted items. Now, since the old purges aren’t around anymore, it’s really not an issue of defense. Unless, of course, you decide to cave to the people who want the old purges back. At that point, defending an outpost does become a problem.

I know, I know. Maybe toxic players will stop making huge bases everywhere. Fat chance of that. We have a clan on our server that’s built 8 enormous structures all over, and there are thralls only at the main base.