....do Alpacas mind their own company or are they like goats and much prefer to have their own kind around?
Alpacas are a true herd animal and it is not recommended to ever keep just one. Alpacas make very good pets if they are treated well and the owners are realistic in their expectations. The more handling they receive as youngsters, the quieter they are as adults. Given time, most alpacas will eat out of your hand and they are easily halter trained. Alpacas look cute and cuddly but they generally don’t like being held, and are particularly sensitive to being touched on or about the head. I have found you do have to be careful just how friendly you allow individuals to become as they seem to sometimes get to 'familiar' and start to treat you like an alpaca!
The best thing to remember is that they are alpacas and not dogs or cats, and should be allowed to be alpacas. If you are planning to keep alpacas as pets, I would advise that 2 or more alpacas is far preferable to 1, as they naturally live in groups.