I wanted to add my little bit about companions here.
Excluding the companions you get from the forts, you can have 11 companions without any conflicts. Just look at the companion compatibility circles, find a companion in each circle, and choose every other companion in the circle.
The maximum number of companions you can have is 14. You have Shih, Mandukhai, Enrique, and George in one circle; Meiling, Mari, Nagako, and Teruyo in the other small circle; and then Gonnosuke, Goemon, William, Francisco, Yoshio, and Kojiro in the big circle. Everyone except Yoshio and Kojiro hate someone, but they also have someone they like to balance them out.
Unfortunately, it's impossible to have all of the noble companions at one time. I think the starting noble party should be Sessai, Yoshio, Hyogo-no-suke, Musashi, Gonnosuke, Yeosong, Isosangemat, Nagako, and Tojiko. You should also get Meiling to keep Gonnosuke happy. That gives you 10 companions.
To get Teruyo, you need to make Nagako and Tojiko lords. To get Youmu, you have to make these companions lords: Yoshio, Musashi, Hyogo-no-suke (in this order), and Nagako. Then you need to get Kojiro to balance Youmu (You probably still have Meiling. You also shouldn't make Gonnosuke a lord until Youmu is a lord.)