Suikoden 4 gave us some odd couples.
Gary and Ema. Ok, it's kinda implied that they are the ancestors of Maxilimilian, but when we first met Maximilian, he was a seasoned knight who is still trying to put up a good fight. Gary and Ema were just some random couple visiting Obel. They didn't have any occupation. They had a son who was off adventuring or something. And they stayed in Obel to help Flare look after the people until Lino returned to reclaim the kingdom. But... What exactly are they doing? Just a couple of do-gooders helping out strangers by not fighting.
And Kevin and Pam. Sure, it's handy having a couple of extra cooks for the HQ, but they joined us because the chief of Nay asked them to. They didn't seem particularly bothered that their island had been obliterated by the Kooluk and everyone they knew back home was killed instantly. They're just happy to hop on board our ship and bake cakes and pies. Maybe they write some letters for the suggestion box about their feelings towards losing Illuya, i'm not sure, but it's odd that we get these characters who really aren't any more special than some of those non-star NPCs that join our ship as volunteers.