The quick fixes: one have a way to recall the crafters to their work benches like the pets “Return Home”, two have the crafters that were returned home stay at the crafting bench for a minimum of 5 or 10 minutes. The follower menu have the right mouse click have the return home selection there. If the crafters encounter a pathing issue, then the default action is to teleport back to a crafting bench. Examples: Conan Exiles Pet And The Commands Via The Radial Wheel - Album on Imgur and Conan Exiles Follower Right Clicked On - Album on Imgur
Experience and what happened. First placing the crafters in the world did not run into any issues. Later while in my castle in the kitchen area I encountered a strange sight. By a Thrall Pot, there were things in a wall as the Thrall Pot was up against a wall. The crafters had been coming to it and feeding before. Now on closer examination of the strange sight it was the crafters feeding but stuck in the wall and their actions appeared like they were moving like trying to get to the Thrall Pot but in the wall. I was able to grab them one at a time and pull them out of the wall and set them down by the Thrall Pot and all was well. Screenshot lost.
Later I needed to craft some armour and weapons but my named crafters were not giving any bonuses to the benches. So, I went looking through the castle for them and could not find them. So, remembering about the Thrall Pot I took out the Contruction Hammer and right mouse clicked and then ran through my base looking at walls for them to be in the walls. Never found them. I brought up the follower tab and clicked the eye icon to show them and stick could not find them but one was noted at being about 1 mile to the NE of my castle. I went to look for this one because they would also be on the way to Freya’s hut but never saw that crafter. New screenshot the next day of the same thing but only 2 crafters. Conan Exiles Living Settlements Thralls Disappearing - Album on Imgur and the map location Conan Exiles Living Settlements Thralls About 1 Mile Away In The Air - Album on Imgur.
There was still a smelter in the base so I went through and now sought to contain the crafter/s by building fencing around the benches. Not long after placing the 1st set of fencing and was working on a 2nd set and about to seal it off the smelter was about to walk out of the 2nd set of fencing. I was shocked that they were there so I finished the 2nd and grabbed the crafter and placed him back w/i the 1st set of fencing. I then started to replace the fencing w/ walls and got that area done and then went to work on the 2nd floor doing walls around the tanning area and found my named tanner and placed him in the contained area so now all was well.
Nope I went back at some point to the kitchen area and there the tanner and smelter were at the Thrall Pot. So, they can in order to meet their needs just teleport through walls. Just great.
So, later I asked my friend who is running the server for the admin password and then used fly, ghost, and God to go under the map to look for the crafter that was ~20-22 minutes flying down under my base but never encountered the crafter that was 1 mile to the NE of my castle.
I gave up and went and did some of the new Heroes quests, got off and went to the store for kitty kitty wet food, and then got back on and in game.
Upon returning from Freya’s house, I just happened to look up and saw something at the spot that was about 1 mile to the NE from my castle. I had been there before but never saw anyone there. Now I saw something up in the sky. I used admin mod and flew up and low and behold it was not just 1 but many just like the Thrall Pot and the wall situation. There were all in each other just up in the air. I had to get them to follow me and then all but 2 would fall to the ground and then follow me back to the castle. The 2 that would not teleport to me and thus fall to the ground I had to build sand stone blocks up. One block was 4 tall and the second was 8 or 12 tall and so I had to have them “Stand Guard” on the tallest and then move them to the 4 tall blocks and then move them to the ground. On the ground I clicked on them to follow me and they would not. Thus, I had to tell them to stand guard here, closer to my castle, then set them there and then repeat the process until they were back in the castle.