Perk Loner and Companions (Encased)

If you take the Loner perk, will it be possible to interact with companions at all? In terms of completing their quests, talking to them in the hub, where they expect you, when they are not in an active party (I haven't reached them yet, maybe it doesn't work that way)? Or, when you take this perk, in fact, they simply disappear at the first meeting, or just stand there, because you can't even take on the quest to hire them?