What kind of information are we talking about? Backgrounds should give you enough information what kind of character will enter your party, because bonuses from classes are locked and you can see all the equipment they own.
To be completely honest I have a few men who are nothing more to me than a bunch of meatshields: a miner refugee, a fat swordmaster, a dastard archer (who’s a founding member), etc. and while I don’t care for them that much (because of their traits) they do contribute in combat. Think of it as managing your bad luck – to squezee all the value you can get out of a bad situation.
