I've beaten the game as a solo character recently. I found that playing solo is more difficult because you're the only target, so you'll need to use cover in battle when available and necessary. Using a burst fire weapon is also good for when enemies get up close. Since Charisma is dumped, those extra points go into Endurance.

I've done solo builds that are Gifted and Non-Gifted. I found from experience from playing without Gifted that if you get both combat enhancements after installing the Charisma module and wearing Mirrored Shades you will die even if suffering from radiation sickness that makes you nauseous. Also, in the Restoration Project, if you don't take Sulik with you, you'll never get the option to rescue his sister from the slavers.

I've done characters in the past that were stupid and went solo, but I've never taken companions with a dimwit. I've heard that with those types of characters, you don't have many that are available, but you can't talk to them, which means you can't get them to holster their weapons so you can enter NCR, nor can you leave them somewhere to safely infiltrate Navarro or the Enclave Oil Rig.

So in the end, is there even a point to playing the game solo?

Personally I find solo easier to play. NPCs require babysitting. That is, assuming you're trying to keep the NPCs alive. Otherwise, I don't see much of a difference. I usually play solo since it's lighter on micromanagement. I only take Sulik to help with the early game quests like Toxic Caves.

The usage of NPCs has two main upsides IMO:
* their addifional firepower makes the game significantly easier: with a ST 6, PE 6, EN 6, CH 7, IN 7, AG 7, LK 1, Gifted (+1 to all previous stats), Fast shot character, level 34+, and a party made of Sulik, Miria, Vic, Cassidy, K-9, Cat Jules, all but K-9 wearing Power Armors, 5 Gauss Rifles or YK-42b Gauss Rifles on the player's side, the Enclave oil rig was quite a breeze. More so than in the vanilla run, at lower level, without RPU (no Cat Jules) + updated Better Miria (Miria limited to weak weapons).
* their carry weight makes it possible to bring a lot more equipment back from EPA, Sierra Army Depot, Navarro, Enclave, etc. in one trip. Arguably, too much equipment: I had to repeatedly drop a significant amount of stuff onto the floor in NV and SF (mainly), because merchants don't have enough buying capacity...

With the Party Orders mod, which was part of RPU when I made that run, NPC babysitting didn't feel that bad to me. The Holster your weapons toggle (useful in NCR, indeed), the Heal yourselves command (especially useful in the electrified floor room in the Enclave oil rig for both keeping Miria alive and bringing back the best armor; other times, I healed NPCs by myself, so as to maximize randomized HP gain from stimpaks), and several others were just one keypress away.

I tend to have my npcs wait in the room with the turrets whenever I go to the Oil Rig. By then, I'm more than strong enough to take the entire oil rig out by myself.