I have just completed the game.
Here is what I think about mercenaries.
Mages & Masters: All mages suck except Rafe. Stacia and Dann waste time with useless spells, Dann especially. He petrifies an enemy, and then your party has to spend half-a-dozen rounds finishing it off. Rafe does nothing but dispense incendiary murder. Rafe hemorrhages MP, so capsules are a must. Equip Rafe with the Red Bow until you get to Act Three, where better stuff can be found.
Masters are the bees' knees. They shoot stuff with a bow, and heal your hp and remove status effects. They also get a party-wide healing spell. Equip them with armor and helmets with high magic. As you only have the one to choose from, recruit "her".
Fighters & Samurai: Equip Fighters with spears, as they do a dump-truck load of damage over daggers. Samurai are vastly superior to Fighters, as they, and their swords, just kill stuff better. Barbara is the easy choice for one, so pick her up, hand her something sharp, and let her do her thing.
Equip them with helmets and armor that grant high magic, and shields that grant high defense. There is no threat of being beat to death by bosses, but by their spamming hit-all spells on you. Formations can accommodate for this, but not nearly as effectively as just wearing the right armor. During random battles stay in an "H" formation and you'll usually win through attrition long before they reduce your HP down.
Hunters & Brawlers: The difference between them is barely noticeable. Daggers & Bows vs. Knuckles & Thrown Weapons, respectively. Other than that, they are more agile than fighters, but only do more damage when subject to specific formations. Kiddo looks pretty cool, which is the best reason I can think of to have one of these guys.
Best Party: The best mercenaries to have in your party are Lisa, Rafe, and Barbara, with any other Fighter, Hunter, or Brawler. Dann and Stacia are complete wastes of space, and tie for the worst character.
This party, equipped with high-magic armor, is basically this game's "repeatedly hit button A to win" method. Figure out which of your formations results in the most damage output, and you're good to go.
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