Bow vs. Crossbow for hero companions?

1n 1257 AD what is to prefer for my companions? I have used siege crossbows for all of them so far. They have all around 300 skill in crossbows and yet even the damage seems lacking. They often don't even kill those lightly armored bandits in one hit. Not to mention, that crossbows are very slow and even though my men are quite skilled (~300) in it they still miss most of the time. The only upside I see with crossbows is, that it doesn't need skill points whereas bows need power draw.

I have now started anew and imported my previous (level 31) player character. Is it worth spending points on the bow skill for my 8(?) hero companions?

Thank you.

It's worth for a try. 1257 ad isn't really for companions like the others. I prefer my companions to be mount and with melee weapons. For range I generally use troop crossbows and archers. They don't need that much time to level up and some of the merc crossbows you can recruit 30 for 3000,(Genoese) and they all have 300 in crossbow. I think that making them horse archers is worth a try. Give them both points in powerstrike and powerdraw, make sure they have good health and good melee and ranged, with a fast horse. They will need to have good riding skills. However, you could get much more equivalent to them by hiring turcopoles.
Ranged seem to be less effective in Anno domini because most of the troops have shields and they can't get through them.
Good lick on the companions. 

Also Tomas is tweaking bow and crossbow damage from what they currently are for the FINAL: FINAL EDITION.

As a Horse-archer for the Il-Khanate, there is no contest-BOWS.
Take 20 Mongol Veteran Horse-archers-park them -let them fire on infantry.
Do the same with 20 crossbows infantry.
Compare which crack more shields and make more enemy infantry groan in horrible death sounds.
      The best archers you can have in the game are your Merc.Companions.Speed rules in this mod in terms of weaponry-compare the firing rate with power-bows always make the better choice.
      With the exception of my 2 Medics,all my Merc.Companions have between 8-10 powerstrike and
powerdraw and only 3-4 ironflesh-most of the health points come the STR boost-so not really needed.They level fast and  horse speed does not matter because they are most effective when they are not moving.They can take on 100 enemy soldiers at least,and at sieges kill at least 40 percent of defenders with their bows.I don't bother to give them shields anymore-bow,2 quivers,and a fast 1-handed weapon(Balanced or Masterwork sabres,scimitars,almogobar hatchet-speed kills most in this mod).
          I recommend the Masterwork Hun Bow for a balance of range,accuracy, and speed for your Merc.Companions.The Masterwork Self-bow has more speed and accuracy but the doesn't have the range(arrow does not go straight the further the target ) but this makes it ideal for ship-to-ship battles.
The Masterwork Composite bow has accuracy and range but it is the slowest-best suited for siege battle-long distance.
The Masterwork Mongol Bow has both range and accuracy and slightly faster than the composite bow.
  Remember,your archers are at their best when they are not moving.In the battlefield, park your horsearchers in front of your cavalry and your Merc. Companions beside them then watch as enemy infantry crumble in a rain of arrows.
              Oh yeah,prepare to use "Hold Fire" and "Fire At Will" a lots.

Alfredthegreat said:

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Ranged seem to be less effective in Anno domini because most of the troops have shields and they can't get through them.

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          My Merc.Companions turn shields into splinters with 2-3  arrows,bring down a cavalry horse with the same amount.Less effectively?With good positioning,they can take some towns with nothing
but arrows.
            I'd say that is pretty damn effective range.

                    I should add,from my observations,PowerDraw matters more than archery/crossbow
proficiency for your Companions to be good killers.I noticed bow proficiency goes faster with higher
Powerdraw which makes sense since they do more damage and experience points is based on damage
done with a weapon,which explains why my Companions level-up so fast after I gave them PowerDraw7-8.
                  If bow/xbow proficiency affects anything, it is the accuracy(tightness)and speed of the 3 points of the bow reticle to get on your target.So they might shoot accurately but without the accompanying damage than higher PowerDraw gives, I gather they won't be 1-hitting anything except maybe your common bandit.