I personally think that as long as your partner and yourself get along and you have things to talk about, that's fine for me.
however if you are playing against your playing partner eg. match play i much prefer to play against someone who is off a lower handicap as it brings out you best game.
when you are playing with someone i do have this tip, in between shots think and talk about anything but golf, this stops you from getting to worked up about your round, at the end of the day most of us play golf for fun and unless you are in an open qualifier theres no need to get so wound up!