Nevertheless, I saw a new program Web Companion, start up afterward. uTorrent also took the liberty of closing my browser and changing its default search engine. (I did not have a choice in this matter.)

For this behavior, uTorrent has been listed as a Threat by Microsoft:

https://www.google.com/search?q=utorrent+installs+web+companion

As of now, uTorrent installation may change your default search engine and install unwanted software without asking you.

UPDATE: also it tried to install a Chrome extension which Chrome notified me of and allowed me to block -

https://imgur.com/a/RWzJZ0E