i think money is underestimated as the driving force of da2, beyond just hawke in the first act. “why do all these people still hang out when they are sometimes so awful to each other” well, horrifyingly, hawke consistently finding work to do together is the most stable source of income a lot of them have right now
which is yet another reason why the mages are so vulnerable here (fenris or isabela could and likely do get other jobs, but because merrill and anders are so isolated, devoted to their unpaid work, and by nature of their existence illegal, jobs with hawke are probably their only or main source of income) and why aveline, varric and sebastian are specifically the most insane because they do not need this and they are here anyway