Ranger Follow Command Rarely Works

I've faced this exact problem for a long time as well. It makes me very reluctant to order Ranger to a location unless I know I'll want him to stay there permanently, because it's very unlikely I'll be able to order him to follow me again. 

And it's such a weird bug because every once in a blue moon the follow order does work, but there is no apparent predictability to it, and I can try it 10+ times in a row with no success.