Ok but like let's be real who actually fights with their wolves instead of just leaving them sitting in their base somewhere. Can the armor be dyed? That might help a bit
I feel like letting pets/horses respawn sitting at pet beds/hay bales would massively increase their useage. You'd still have to go back home if you want to keep exploring with them, but not you can have some investment without easily losing everything.
Some smarter AI that actively avoids lava and cactus would be nice. Retreating when hurt could be good too.
As a non gamer this completely ruined the game for me ngl. I couldn't explore caves or hang out at night outside of peaceful mode anymore, lest I get my shit rocked by a skeleton armed with what may as well have been hollow point heat seeking arrows.