Hollow Knight: Silksong introduced dozens of new characters to the dark bug world created by Team Cherry, and I just wanted to make a page where I can gush about them!
I'm a sucker for the charismatic-yet-goofy knight trope (especially when the mount is included in the character!) This pair remind me a lot of Didymus and Ambrosius from The Labyrinth (1986) in both style of speech and behavior. High self-agrandizing, Garamond proves time and time again that he can be a great asset in helping Hornet clear the way up towards the Citadel, though all throughout, our hero expresses grave concern that Garamond will eventually cross a foe that he cannot beat.
It is not an unfounded worry...Garamond bellows and shouts before every attack, and charges into battle very transparently. His main method of attack seems to be flailing his halberd wildly in the air. That said, mechanically this uncomplicated fighting style doesn't seem to hinder him, I would have never beat the Moorwing without his assistance, and there are multiple places in the overworld after you progress past Greymoor that Garamond will appear to essentially make an area "easier" by permanently taking out a tough foe. That said, Hornet's concern every time you encounter him and Zaza is persistent (but polite; she never seems like she wants to bring the old man down, only protect him).
Now into spoiler territory (though I myself haven't finished the game yet): The last place I've encountere Garamond and Zaza so far is the rooftop above the Whispered Vaults. After assisting Hornet with the enemies there, he challenges her to a duel, as two masters of the warring arts. Naively, I eagerly accepted his request, and go about the fight with the honor and respect one gives a friend (aka no cheeky tactics I employ against other enemies). Even still, I quickly realize what I thought would be an intense boss fight is...not that. He...is sadly very easy for me to beat, especially at this point in the game. I start to feel bad, avoiding him more than I attempt to strike. Everything he does is so obviously telegraphed, I never get hit. And so the fight must end, and Garamond is quite shaken by the defeat. He insists he'll catch up with Hornet later, but...Hornet's journal entry betrays him.
Shakra is just such a fun take on the map-maker trope. Unlike Cornifer in Hollow Knight —a man with a warm bookish personality who prefers the safest routes through the kingdom of Hallownest—Shakra is a highly-efficient mantid warrior who's cartography prowess is simply a tangential sidearm skill that she uses in her own journey. [blah blah blag more stuff here]
[blah blah blah stuff about the character etc etc