Yeah, monsters were not always all that effective compared to having just another party member in its place instead. I suppose it would depend on what monsters ask to join the party and at what point during the game it joined. Hey Origen, do you happen to know if it's possible to script a monster to join the party?
Unfortunately, no. I think it may have been something that was going to be added, butt then all of the developers disappeared. This was a feature that I was really hoping for though.