2021 - 52 weeks of doing something different

I wont be able to do something new every week but I will try companion planting this year. Last year I grew some aubergines. They were attacked first by aphids and when they died off, they were got by red spider mite. Can anyone suggest any companion plant(s) that might help in this situation? I think the mites started on a cucumber plant and then spread to the aubergines via some sweet peppers.

Mark I grew French marigolds with my tomatoes last year and had no bother whatsoever, it was a mix of varieties both single and doubles if you know of any with a strong marigold smell use them, if you feel that you need to spray I had good results by steeping garlic cloves in water, important you keep it covered as its quite a stink, I then strained the solution and added this to a sprayer which I topped up with water then added a squirt of bio washing up liqide, this helps the solution stay on the leaf a bit longer