which skills can followers actually use? how do i make virgil use his picklocks skill? i gave him some lockpicks but when i click on a door he won't rush forward and offer to help me with it? is it possible to make someone in your party use their personal repair skill? or gamble skill? which skills can you force a follower to use? and how do you do it? i've always had follower skills "on" yet never seen it do anything (although if i do recall it did work in fallout2)
You have to use the lockpicks yourself. If your skill is too low/non-existent, then a follower will rush to help you. They don't need to have a set of lockpicks themselves. No.
if i give them a set of lockpicks will it boost their skill? or will using better lockpicks myself in the first place end up boosting their skill? or is it impossible to boost a followers lockpick attempt in anyway?
It's just a guess, but since it is you holding the lockpicks rather than the follower, I think he doesn't gain their bonus, just like he doesn't benefit from a fate point invested in a critical success in lock picking. Not sure if he will gain a bonus if he has his own set of lockpicks. (Small) Oiled Thieves Leather boosts the Lockpick skill by 1/20.