One of the most depressing characters in fantasy has to any type of guardian.  For their cause of protecting a major relic, they are rewarded with loneliness.  Most of the time they are stuck alone protecting the thing they were meant to protect.  There are almost zero social interactions, which can span from decades to even centuries.  Although they are full of wisdom, who can they share it with?  Clearly, they cannot share it with the inanimate object.  Being a guardian of anything must be a sad existence for this type of character.  Why can they have a more open existence, with the object still in their protection even if they go outside once in a while?

  This highly used cliché to me at least needs an end in some degree.  There is nothing wrong with some social interactions once in a while.  If the object is small, the character could carefully carrying it to avoid it being stolen while they are outside.  If the object is big, the guardian could have a trusted friend watch it while they get a minute or two of fresh air.  Additionally, if it works with the plot, the guardian could end up sacrificing the object in a last ditch effort to protect the world.  It would be a bittersweet route to take, but at least the character would now be free.  Anything is better than being trapped alone forever guarding something.