Suggestion: Merchant castaways

Hey there. I was just on a riddle quest on Krakens, and i passed Lootin' Penelope while looking for 'a scarecrow looking over the southeast seas'...
And i wondered why I can't talk to her, and ask if she'd maybe seen a scarecrow around...
All those lonely Merchant trading npcs feel kinda dead anyway, you could add a little more life to them. For example by having em give hints to riddle-solvers, and also they should fight the skellis with you... Why do they just stand there??