I don't think companions should return to service after you have escaped or been released from prison or capture, In most cases they return to the Inn circuit which change according too time spent in game over months and years, as with most NPC characters they will change location over time as they move around the map, well they used to in the first two games Mount Blade & Warband i gather it would be the same case for Bannerlord, i haven't played much because i thought the game still required more work and they changed the skill system somewhat from the way it worked in the first games and i'm just not fussed on the new setup, i just wanted to see the game put into a better engine that handled better models & game mechanics, from the old games there were 20 companions 10 you could use full time together because they got along morale wise, you could not have 20 and keep them together because sooner or later personalities got in the way and they would fight till one left your service, at most including your wife when you marry and any siblings or faction leaders your party would not increase hero's to more then 14 or 15 unless you had changed some mechanic in the world mod you were playing which would increase the amount of companion hero characters you could sustain, based on level and income you had gathered which can be generated many ways, i rarely used an actual army in the old game i prefer just to travel with companions for ages while i built up reputation & honor winning tournaments across the map, they move around to the bigger cities, i would also do quests and such to raise local loyalties with villages & towns so when i did finally create an army and start my own faction i would just have tons of lords and villages & towns just join my faction, the best way to win in old games was to sway all factions to join you as your the better leader without massive wars but through cunning diplomacy & winning tournaments gaining favor of heaps of court ladies before marriage, you'll need court ladies in every faction to bribe lords onto your side so remember that before you get married, you need high rep with them to bribe the lords that hate you later because you may have porked his daughter or killed his son somewhere down the line, you may have just beat them silly over several tournaments and need to repair some factional loyalty.
I can just tell people when I feel that way and they can take it into account. Or take a break. Of course, personal insults & harassment do get a pretty quick boot.
