[No DAV Spoilers] So...Talking to companions?

Something I find a bit jarring here, is that I can't have a casual chat with companions.

You're given a map flag when they have something to talk to you about, but you can't strike up any sort of casual convo with them it seems.

Unsure how I feel about it.

On one hand, yay! No more running about and flicking through every single chat option just to ensure you've not missed any important topics. They'll let me know when there's something useful to talk about, and you don't need to trot about the hub doing the companion rounds.

On the other, it feels a bit strange that you can't go in and ask them some basic questions about themselves, get to know them some more, challenge views and enquire about plot points. They become a bit static, only talking to you when there's something to move the story along.

Whats everyone elses thoughts?