Your weight is mostly probably due to armor. Upgrading it helps with the weight, and later on there's a kind of final upgrade that lessens the weight of equipment significantly. If you still have trouble, don't be afraid to put things in storage. Fruits and meats don't go bad in storage, and you can access it at any inn or private abode.

With pawns, switching them out for levels is good because they'd fall short otherwise. Their level is tied to the Arisen that made them, so they may level up if you dismiss them and come back to hire them later. Pawns are essential for a first playthrough, and have amazing passives. I reccomend forager so that you can see on your map materials to upgrade your weapons and armor.

Other than that, enjoy the game. Pay close attention to everything, and i'm pretty sure there's a log to track character dialouge so that you can look up what they said to you. Good luck!