I play in Gallia. Non-Sabre Outcast NPCs are nothing. If "anything out of Liberty" seems strong... I'd pit the entire supply of Bretonian non-cap NPCs against a single Gallic patrol and bet on the Gallic patrol. Especially those Maquis ones...
Your escort isn't getting paid to fly wing with you and chat- he's getting paid to do work just like you are. Mining is not something you can alt-tab out of, you have to shoot stuff. Same deal for your escort (except they're more likely to spontaneously explode upon tabbing back in). This is why you pay them significantly. Because they're doing work (you're right, dealing with waves of NPCs can be work). Did I mention that you're paying them for work that they're doing, just like you?