Confirmed - VS, Liara, Garrus, the FNG (James Sanders)
Liara is central to the plot, though I'll be surprised if she's a full squaddie. Isn't it too risky for her (as the Shadow Broker) to be out and about where she might die suddenly? Bioware might hand-wave it somehow (maybe Feron is her backup in case she dies), but I see her more as "mission control" on the Normandy. It would be cool to get intel updates from her throughout the missions, though.
Let's face it, someone could have done an intentionally terrible suicide mission and saved only two people that Bioware wasn't planning on having in ME3 anyway (Kasumi and Zaeed, for instance). They're going to have to give you replacement squadmembers, and what do you know, the VS is readily available and still very much not-dead. I think we can all predict that Shepard's upcoming trial is going to be interrupted by the Reaper invasion (just as someone loudly proclaims that Reapers don't exist), and more than likely the VS and the F***ing New Guy James Sanders will be your squadmates during the tutorial mission when you fight your way off Earth.
(Also, anyone want to place bets on the VS being called as a witness?)
They've confirmed Garrus, which is nice. Given his popularity (but lack of plot relevance), I'm guessing he'll be a permanent member of the squad. If you lost him in ME2, well, at least you still have the VS, FNG, and maybe Liara as your initial squad.
Plot Relevant Characters
Tali (Squaddie) - Why is she plot relevant? She is your link to the Quarians, who happen to have the biggest fleet in the galaxy. One way or the other, you want these people on your side, and to do it, you're probably going to need to resolve the whole Geth-Quarian problem. She's also the daughter of a former admiral and close to two current admirals. Even if she was exiled, she's going to be important. There are probably going to be two questlines relating to this whole issue, one on the Quarian side and one on the Geth. If you got Tali exiled, or let her die, things might be tougher for you, or you won't have the ability to pursue the Quarian questline at all. If Tali's not on the Normandy when you get there, you'll probably pick her up when you head to the Floatilla. Will she be a full squaddie? Come on, if they're bringing back Garrus, they're bringing back Tali.... Shepard Team Assemble!
Legion (Part-time Squaddie) - See above. Legion will be your link to the Geth side of the equation. As a race of machines, the Geth are probably going to be your strongest weapon against the Reapers. So long as they can't be reprogrammed or subverted (and the heretic Geth weren't), they're the only race in the galaxy that can match the Reapers in speed of thought and endurance. I'm thinking Legion won't be available as a full time squaddie because he'll be performing a role similar to Wrex, i.e. "leading" the Geth, though you might have him during the Geth questline. If you sold him or he died, again, the questline will be tougher or nonexistent.
Mordin (NPC) - Wait, what? Why is he plot relevant? Because Mordin might have the possible cure to the genophage. We know it's possible (Saren did it), and if anyone can cure the genophage again it's our scientist Salarian. Along with Wrex, I'm sure he'll be part of getting the Krogan on your side. What you did with the cure and whether or not he survived the suicide mission will determine what portions of this questline (if any) you are able to do. I think he'll either have a cameo or be a permanent "Q" on your ship. At this point in the timeline, I think he's just getting too old to be a squadmate (in human years he's pushing ninety).
Wrex (Part-time Squaddie) - See above. You want the Krogans on your side. If they almost wiped out the galaxy before, think of what they could do to the Reapers. Offering a cure or a modification to the genophage is one way to get them on your side, but you'd need a leader like Wrex to keep them in line and make sure they fight for you and not against you. Whether or not you saved Wrex and completed Grunt's loyalty mission (giving you fame on Tuchanka) should factor into this questline. If they keep Wrex in a leadership role, I see him as a temporary squaddie. If not, he might rejoin you full time to go out with a bang.
Miranda/Jacob (Squaddie/Part-time Squaddie) - This is a tough one. The Cerberus operatives are relevant to the plot in that they work for TIM. It'll be interesting to see how Bioware plays this. They've already said that Cerberus will be pursuing you in ME3, but that only makes sense for a paragon character who gave TIM the finger and blew up the base. What about renegades who actively supported TIM at every turn and saved the base specifically for Cerberus? Did the player's paragon decision make Miranda quit the organization or is she still a member? I'm guessing that Bioware is going to hand-wave some of this so as not to waste whatever development time they're spending on a "Cerberus invading the Normandy" mission, but it'll be a hard call as to whether or not Jacob and Miranda stay with you. You might have them while Shepard is still with Cerberus and then lose them if/when he goes off on his own or rejoins the Alliance. We'll see.
Ancillary Characters
Grunt (Squaddie) - If we get Wrex, I could see Grunt returning to Tuchanka to join clan Urdnot. If not, then of course our little Krogan is going to stay by Shep's side. It'll be either/or on the Krogans.
Jack (Optional Squaddie) - Jack gave the impression that as soon as the suicide mission was done, she was taking off. If you romanced her, I can see her having a reason to stay, but otherwise, I think you'll encounter her at some point during the game be given the option to recruit her again. Because of the cacaphony of characters, I think we're going to have some kind of set limit on how many we can recruit in addition to the plot-centric characters above. If fewer plot-centric characters survived ME2, then you'll have the ability to recruit more "optional" characters.
Samara/Morinth (Optional Squaddie) - I believe her oath only bound her until the end of the suicide mission. I could see her being a potential recruit for paragons, and a potential enemy at some point for renegades. The reverse would be true for Morinth (though why or how a paragon would recruit Morinth is beyond me). If we have Liara as a squaddie, I doubt we'll get Samara/Morinth, though having *both* in the party would be epic.
Thane (Optional Squaddie/NPC) - Let's face it, Thane's dying. Unless Bioware hand-waves a cure, then he's going to be getting pretty sick and close to death. If you romanced him then my guess is he'll be on the Normandy in a convalescent state. If you didn't, then he's either somewhere else or already dead. If they do cure him and he survived the suicide mission, then I'm guessing he'd be an optional squadmate.
Kasumi/Zaeed (Cameos) - Considering that not everyone downloaded the two DLC characters, I seriously doubt Bioware is going to spend much money in developing them further for ME3. No, I don't like it, and yes, I do like both the characters, but considering the amount of "variables" they already have to contend with, do you think they're going to do more than a cameo (assuming they survived)? It would be very cool to see Kasumi break Shepard out of jail, though, not to mention seeing Zaeed going all Duke Nukem on the streets of London as Shepard's shuttle takes off for the Normandy.
Will we get new squadmembers? They certainly put enough thought and background into Gianna Parasini and Shiala. I don't know if they're quite squadmate material (Gianna's a private investigator and we already have Asari biotics), but maybe there's a role they could play for Shepard on the Normandy. Aside from the FNG, I could seem them introducing maybe one more new squadmate, but really, the pantheon is already full. I don't think there's enough time left in the final game to really develop a new squadmember.
All I know is, I want Matriarch Aethyta for Normandy bartender!
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