Quickie on dream guides.

Hey, I've seen around the idea of a 'dream guide' and from what I've seen its someone that is in your dream which you can go to for advice etc. I personally really like the idea of having this buddy there with you to guide you through the early stages of lucid dreaming and to 'share' your experiences with as they'll always be there in the dream.

I do have a few questions though
1) Can your dream guide surprise you and have a personality that you can't control?
2) Can your dream guide help to stabilise dreams
3) The most important one - can your dream guide tell you when you're dreaming and 'force' you to become lucid. As in, if you asked them to tell you every time you dream that you're dreaming?

Thanks!

Before answering your questions, I suppose I should point out that I personally believe that there is nothing inherently special about a dream guide. They are just a dream character we attach an immense amount of importance to. Still useful, but only really as useful as you allow or believe them to be. With that said, onto the questions.

1. Yup. Equally, though, if you assert your will strongly enough, you can control even the most defiant of dream entities. You probably wouldn't want to do this, since it kind of defeats the point of a guide.

2. Yup, though they aren't necessary. Still potentially helpful.

3. Sometimes. Its very much a gamble and people tend to have conflicting accounts on how helpful they are. I see them as almost a reality check by proxy. I notice my guide and then think to reality check. They can be useful for this purpose, but I wouldn't rely on them.