have u figured this out? I just started using this mod and got the spouse npc for 1 point to see if it works, i cant find npc's and wonder how to contact them

same, i really need to know this

Once you have at least 8 members in your group, you will be able to create a faction.

Factions currently don't do anything. The first step is that the faction's region of influence (their perceived territory) will affect how npcs act towards the player and each other. From there, we'll see what I come up with.