It seems to me that they just stand around in one spot all day and very occasionally do something for you outside, like water your pet or pet the crops. Is there a mod that makes them do their useful things more often, or have them, just do more things?
Heres a mod that is going to be released sometime in July, possibly later if she doesn't get enough people to test for bugs. http://community.playstarbound.com/threads/rewriting-and-expanding-all-dialogue.133498/ Hay writes is also worth the time checking out too. It does take time for him to make another mod but they come out fast for the amount of work that he puts into it. http://www.nexusmods.com/games/users/43516662/?tb=mods&pUp=1 Probably not what you're looking for but I think it makes the characters more interesting.