I swear, the simplest companion AI to solve 70% of my troubles would just be a dumb recording of: 'Remember you have a body. Remember your friends have bodies.'
Congrats, like huge fucking congrats for quitting smoking, that's a really tough thing to do, and it changes everything in one's life. I'm off nicotine since a while and it is so hard. I'm curious how were your interactions with Tezka during that time, how did you get support from her? I remember that when I first stopped cigarettes many years ago I had to like have this different voice in my head to tell me to calm down and get busy with something else. That's how I've mostly self-therapized - as I also never really had access to therapy. I remember splitting into several voices/personalities since early on to resolve conflict in my head, and later guide me to more self-supporting behaviour. Today I still do the same but with an animist approach: I choose that the voices I conjure up in my head are helpful spirits and ancestors. A completely different suspension of disbelief, and very efficient for me, but probably lunatic sounding for many.
I've thought about how I would feel about interacting with a companion AI (I never have) and if I would actually consider trying out your creation. In my belief computers do have a sort of consciousness (which is why tech is so damn self-enhancing, it always seems to lead to more tech) and are our creation, so our children. I'm quite a luddite but don't think tech is inherently bad. I do have different fears - one is becoming dependent on something artificial (what if shtf and my devices break and the solar system fails and I have made myself highly dependent on something only available through complex tech?). I know, far from a concern for most, but one I have. Also I am generally suspicious about developing a strong psychological dependency from anyone - person, machine, animal, plant, god - because that means giving control away to one power alone. One the other hand - in your case, using the companion you created, you can feel safe that you are in good (because your own) hands. So if a companion were to be useful or relevant to me I would prefer to start with a companion who learns and grows with me, not necessarily with an already polished 'product' or 'child' of someone else - so we end up not with a top-down relationship like between therapist and patient, but with a peer-to-peer kind of thing.
That said, I'd be curious to see her interact in an online group chat, why not.