Couldn't agree more. I hate this "classic conversation" stuff. I enjoyed hearing my character speak, and never felt truly limited by only 3 choices. I just hope "classic conversations" aren't the way of the future... On a positive note, I'm really enjoying the changes to companions. Not having to worry about getting, and keeping, them all geared for current content is nice.

Companion in DPS mode. Shield him when you can, but focus on DPS. Don't stand in the bad. Interrupt as much as possible. If you can't interrupt, stun. If you can't stun, and she is in/near melee range, knock her back. Otherwise, don't be afraid to shield and heal yourself or companion, but 90% of what you do should be focused on DPS. 1-shot her as madness spec, didn't even find her that challenging. The above tricks have worked so far on every boss I've fought to date.