Well I've been to Sargoth, Tihr, Praven, Rivacheg, Uxkhal, Tulga, Halmar and Jelkala I believe, and found close to no one between them. Also the Four Ways Inn, but only a gambler and a non-talkative woman there.
At the time of writing I just walked in to Zendar and there are about 10/15 patrons in there... O_o
In that case perhaps more companion characters are necessary, perhaps with a limit to the amount of full companions you can have at one time. Limit it to 10 maybe, though I tend to stick to 5 myself.