Romance and Temporary Companions Planned for TES V: Skyrim

I was pointed today to a German preview from several months back on the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, based on a hands-off demo of Skyrim in Utah. It’s mostly known material, but there’s one quote that stands out, at the end of the third paragraph. Translation:

As disclosed, “Skyrim” is a single player RPG like its predecessor, but a kind of companion system is being implemented, which will at least make temporary companions available. Also romantic options and friendships can therefore be found in the plans.

It’s odd that we haven’t heard anything about this since, so it’s possible this is just author speculation rather than something he heard firsthand.