I hated the Henchman system as well, and I'd much prefer a character party with NPCs. It almost makes me wish theyd make a Baldur's Gate 3 using the old infinity engine.
I certainly hope that there will be henchmen control, as that was one of the worst aspects of NWN.
I hope that in NWN2 they have a true party, and go the Baldur's Gate route rather than the Icewind Dale route. Importing characters from the first NWN is a must.
Hordes of the Underdark's campaign was better than the main game's, but I still felt it was short. We can only hope the NWN 2 campaign is good, but that is dependent on the above..