So. In my 700's game, now at 792, the PC's have turned into "fixers" of sorts for the covenant's problems - We're about 16 sessions in with magi only characters so far. There are 18 magi, and the current group of 5 players is focused heavily on magic-y stuff. They are NOT the group that deal with mundane problems, at least not intentionally.
However, I do want a range of experiences in the game and have been wondering about them making companion characters. Except I'm not actually sure these characters will necessarily have anything to do with the the magi characters.
Clearly talking it over with my group is a good idea. Yet at the same time I want to have some direction on how to approach it too.
What about Ungifted Redcaps, Venditores, tame Knights, librarians, administrators, purveyors and such? An 18 mage covenant needs a lot of people in contact with the outside world - and some of them hold privileged positions.
You could try making the companion characters some of the important locals (or a group of important locals, like a noble's court, or the cathedral canons) near the covenant. Characters like the local priests, guildmasters, minor nobles, etc.
They are characters who are not part of the covenant, but as they live near by, have to deal with many of the same mundane problems. If they are well-disposed to the covenant, they might seek assistance sometimes from the covenant, but generally they have their own mundane systems for dealing with problems. Using these "external" companions you can either tell totally different stories, or sometimes show a different perspective on stories you are concurrently telling with the magi.