Thank you for the comment!
That is a positive take on the followers being "useless". What i mean is we wanted to make them more integral to the gameplay with bridging and stepping mechanics, and any extra monkeys you save add to your points. So you must use the monkey bridges sparingly as you are sacrificing your loyal followers!
Of course we ran out of time for that, so now they are just for points and the thrill of the challenge. I appreciate that you see the positive in this time management mistake :D