The present invention is related to surfactant-based formulations comprising the polyelectrolytes and blends of such polyelectrolytes with non-cellulosic cationic polysaccharide polymers. The surfactant-based formulations exhibit improved clarity of the resulting formulations, their improved conditioning of keratin substrates, textile substrates, and hard-surface substrates, their improved deposition of dispersed phase materials onto keratin substrates, textile substrates, and hard-surface substrates, their improved lather performance, and their improved rheology in applications such as personal care and household care products and textile applications.