Couldn't agree more. I thought it looked boring myself the very first time I played, and that was around the time it came out :lol:
But then at some point I had nothing to do (can't remember why) and started playing it again, and after getting out of the starting cave, doing some quests in...
You can get rid of dogmeat by locking him in a room somewhere. Just find a room with a closeable door and no other exits, go in there, wait for him to follow, then run out and close the door behind you before he can follow.
If you fail to do it fast enough, you could also press A to enter...