Happy to help.
Recharging station is a go, then. No ten minute adventuring day if I get in, just ten minute coffee breaks.
Okay, so, you're talking about classes like they're full sets - e.g., Paladin casting is 20 RFS because it's a system, and is paid for from 1st, despite not doing anything until 4th. Level 1 Paladin gets four to six RFS (Aura of good, detect evil, smite evil 1/day, spellcasting, possibly proficiency with weapons and armor). Three at 2nd (Divine grace, lay on hands, casting), four at 3rd (Aura of courage, divine health, mercy, casting), and three at 4th (Channel positive energy, smite evil, and casting). After that, it's essentially two/level (one named feature, plus casting)... well, depending on how you count Divine Bond (it's a non-progressing one-off that references a progression for the effects).
I just want to make sure that we only get the Regular Feature Slots as we level into the things we're trading out, rather than getting them all at once and being able to... "front load" very heavily by nabbing things from archetypes that trade out the low level things.
Cool...
Is that no crafting feats at all, or "they don't work for starting wealth"? The two are different when it comes to crafting some things (most notably constructs, which always obey their creators even if they've been told to obey someone else), and also long-term planning.
Does that apply to other pets as well? A double progression Synthesist Eidolon would really let me mix it up in melee.
Hmm... what would a 12th level animal companion look like... stating a "Cat, big" for that....
Spoiler
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Size Large;
Speed 40 ft.;
AC 25 (+11 natural armor, -1 size, +5 Dex, +4 Armor) Touch 14, flat-footed 20
Attack bite +14 (1d8+8 + Grab), 2 claws +14 (1d6+8 + Grab);
Ability Scores Str 26, Dex 20, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 15, Cha 10;
Special Attacks grab, pounce, rake (1d6+8);
Special Qualities low-light vision, scent.
HP: 10d8+30 (75)
7 BAB
Fort +10
Ref +12
Will +5
10 skill points (ten ranks in any one skill; go with either Perception or Survival for a +15)
5 feats (ignoring these for now)
Ability Score Increase * 2 (went with +1 Str/Dex)
Multiattack (does nothing, as claw, bite, and rake are all primary)
Evasion
Devotion
Link
Share Spells
... and that's before selecting the feats (Improved Natural Armor, Weapon Focus (Claw and/or bite), and Improved Natural Attack (claw and/or bite) might be handy), spending anything on equipment (e.g., +1 Mithral Chain Shirt Barding for five points of cheap AC), long-term buffs (Magic Vestments, Barkskin, Greater Magic Fang, and so on), or short-term buffs. It's also a pretty vanilla companion; grabbing, say, Monstrous Mount on the PC for a Griffon increases the AC by four, HP by ten, adds Darkvision and Flight, lets it take any feat (including armor proficiency for proper cheap AC) and not worry about tricks or handle animal checks, and only reduces the strength modifier by three points.
This may be perfectly fine; the question is "do you expect a pet to outshine a PC"?
... and hopefully nobody triples up an animal companion.