Can followers ride mounts or PCs?
Yes, while the size difference allows, they can, like any other creature. But both loses an action in combat due to the general rule about mount a non mount made intelligent creature.
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Riding PCs
Source Howl of the Wild pg. 9 2.1
A PC can ride on another PC as long as the second PC is at least two size categories larger than them; this might be a Tiny awakened ferret riding in their elf teammate's backpack, or a halfling on a minotaur's shoulder. However, this requires a tremendous amount of coordination to ensure the smaller PC doesn't get in the way, or that the two PCs don't jostle each other into losing actions. As a result, for most parties, this tactic is less favorable than the smaller PC just using their own mount. If a PC who is at least two sizes smaller rides along with another PC or similar non-minion intelligent creature, roll both their initiatives and use the lower of the two results. The two PCs act in either order on the same initiative count. While traveling in this way, the PCs each gain two actions at the start of their turns, instead of three, since the larger PC spends one action keeping the smaller one balanced on their back, and the smaller PC spends one action maintaining their grip.Some ancestries specialize in being able to carry smaller riders or have feats to enable this, such as centaurs.
It's generally not a great tactic because of the action loss, but can be done.
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That being said, that action loss doesn't happen with normal mounts, and far as I know there's nothing stopping them. They'd be riding bog-standard riding horses or warhorses or the like, but it's doable for sure.
Sort of. You still have issue commands to your mount, and if it's not an animal companion (or other similar ability) the action economy is worse. You have to use Nature skill to Command an Animal. While animal companions (or minions) generally get some sort of action economy boost to make it more palatable.
To expand on that a little bit, eventually an animal companion gets 1 action for free and if you command it, it can get two instead (they don't combine to grant 3 actions). So an animal companion works out to 2 actions for you (you spend 1 to command) and 2 for the companion, or 3 for you and 1 "free" action for the companion.
Same action economy as if one PC rides another. Except the animal companion is an extra character, so the party gets more total actions.
The take away is, if you want to ride something regularly, it's best to get an animal companion.
isn't the whole purspose of a Follower to have him follow you around while carrying around a split coconut so that you won't be needing horses in the first place though?
Now I want to make a Bard w/ percussion who does this with Song of Marching. Heck and who narrates the same way re: PCs' tactics being brave (or not). :-) Just have to finesse tension/humor & insult/parody which might be a challenge. :-P
OMG ideas are flooding in re: spell effects representing Monty Python moments...