Followers are people who obey your character's orders, for whatever reason. It your character’s a businessman, they might be his loyal employees. If your character is in the Navy, they’re the sailors under his command. Or they might simply be a group of people who admire, respect and wish to aid your character in his endeavors. That's not to say they're blindly obedient (unless you specify that your character’s Followers are brainwashed zombies or something). They’re ordinary people; if treated callously, they’ll likely become disillusioned. Take care to work out your character's followers with the Storyteller, since the Storyteller portrays them.
Followers generally aren’t the most skilled people in the world — it they were, they‘d have followers of their own. Each follower generally has one particular asset or talent but not the widespread access or abilities of an ally or contact. A Follower is considered an extra; sample templates have ready-made follower types. A follower cannot be Inspired; such a character must be purchased as an Ally. Followers killed in the line of duty are not automatically replaced. New minions are acquired through role-playing.