If we're talking pets...
Grizzly Adams isn't very grizzly without his pet
Grizzly MIght I suggest on combat... Keep the introduction simple. Give it some chance in Valhalla and encourage players to try it out there in various ways. Start adding and fleshing it out as people say they like the basics or don't like them. Better than the major paradigm changes we've seen.
Otherwise, I like the post. Thanks for sharing. I'm just going to say that if my experience with CCP and EVE Online is any indicator of what you're going to need to deal with on the client... it don't matter how well it performs. The more activity that can be squeezed into it, the more people are going to push the limits. I don't think we have the player base currently for large combats numbering in the hundreds of players, but as the adage from the movie went... "if you build it, they will come."
Opinions expressed in this statement are the authors alone and in no way reflect on the game development values of the actual developers.