I've seen other posts like this. But it's not been my experience. Haven't counted or anything, but seems I've gotten a roughly 50/50 mix for candidates. And of my four companions in party, 2 are male, 2 female. Maybe I've just been "lucky". I wonder if region has an effect; compared to Warband, the companions don't really seem to roam city-to-city as much. I've been hanging out mostly in Vlandia & Western Empire so far.
I've noticed a few of them seem "crafted", in the sense that they have a scripted backstory that at least somewhat matches their skills. Healers with some Medicine skill, bandit past with some Roguery & Bow, etc. But many others obviously just cookie-cutter bland, even to the point of saying roughly "I don't know why you'd want to hear my story...it's generic".
And that may be intentional, not just a case of "it's EA and we haven't fleshed everything out yet." Some companions will stay with the party just like we've been used to in the past, but others get sent off to lead caravans or do other long-term missions/roles, rarely to directly interact with the player again.