Macho, nevertheless an honoured companion (5)
I believe the answer is:
butch
'macho' is the definition.
(I know that macho can be written as butch)
'nevertheless an honoured companion' is the wordplay.
'nevertheless' becomes 'but' (I've seen this before).
'an honoured companion' becomes 'CH' (Companion of Honour).
'but'+'ch'='BUTCH'
(Other definitions for butch that I've seen before include "Markedly masculine" , "Aggressively masculine" , "Acting as a male (colloq.)" , "Tough" , "Macho" .)