but, at that level, you could also get a T-rex or a dire elephant.... or a Roc, or even a dire tiger. is the horrid template worth THAT?
Dire Bears have 3 attacks/round and a +23 grapple check, compared to the T-Rex's 1 attack/round and +30 grapple. Plus, that one attack all ready has Swallow Whole, which means it's all ready dealing acid damage (which means it doesn't stack with the damage added from Horrid).
The Dire Tiger I will give you. Advanced Fleshraker works too, but can't grapple as effectively. The Roc is also nice, but highly impractical for a good number of standard scenarios (same problem with T-Rex, they are just too big).
At those levels, you want your companion to be just the right size to grapple something and have a high number of attacks/round to make those checks with (or deal extra damage each round). If it's too big, it won't be able to follow you effectively. If it's too small, it won't be able to grapple threats (you can Enlarge a Dire Bear or Tiger to the right size, but you lose out if you shrink a Roc to try and fit it through the barn door).
