Can I get my stuff back from a follower after he has left my service?

Question

I had a follower (Jzargo) and had him carry a bunch of my loot. But I forgot to get it back from him before I sent him home. Now he won't talk to me because I'm in the middle of a quest involving the college and so I can't ask him to join me again.

Is there any way to get my stuff back from him without resorting to pickpocketing (which I tried, but even though it's my things he thinks I'm stealing from him). I am also not very good at it so I can't easily get away with it, and even if I did I wonder if they would now appear as stolen goods.

Answer

The cleanest way to get your equipment back is to complete the current quest. Nobody dies, gets a bounty or tries to kill you. You're in a very unusual situation, possibly the only such situation in the game where an NPC who could be a follower temporarily has the follower tag removed as part of a quest.

Check more discussion of this question.

Skyrim switching between followers

Question

So I had this one follower, Marcurio and then I saw Lydia and thought I'd give her a try. I released Marcurio and he wandered off in his full daedric armor... oops

Can you get a follower back after releasing them? If yes, will they be at their original hire location? And will they cost money again?

Answer

Can you get a follower back after releasing them?

Yes.

If yes, will they be at their original hire location?

Yes. Marcurio's in The Bee and the Barb in Riften, by the way.

And will they cost money again?

Maybe. Some cost nothing -- usually you have to do a quest to win their trust -- but others you will have to pay for again. Marcurio isn't one of them, but he might rejoin at no cost if dismissed only a short time ago. I don't know if that means right after you dismiss him or a few days/hours later, as my follower isn't a mercenary.

Check more discussion of this question.