How much direction or control is allowed with Animate Dead?

[Raymond Lambert]

So should a player useing this spell be allowed to choose the specific actions of the undead? If so, is there a line on what is fair compared to too much?
examples:
choosing which target to attack
moving into flank
useing combat maneuvers
Utilizing full defense or defensive fighting
5 foot stepping to block a charge?

I have a hard time figuring out what the undead's lack intelligence would prohibit it from. It does have a wisdom of 10.

I am not going to prohibit the use of the spell, the player _WILL_ be allowed to continue to use the spell. Please save suggestions of prohibiting the spell for other threads. This campaign is not about being a hero and the ethics involed, it is about getting a job done.

Animate dead
School necromancy [evil]; Level cleric 3, sorcerer/wizard 4
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (an onyx gem worth at least 25 gp per Hit Die of the undead)
Range touch
Targets one or more corpses touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell turns corpses into undead skeletons or zombies that obey your spoken commands.

The undead can be made to follow you, or they can be made to remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific kind of creature) entering the place. They remain animated until they are destroyed. A destroyed skeleton or zombie can't be animated again.

Regardless of the type of undead you create with this spell, you can't create more HD of undead than twice your caster level with a single casting of animate dead. The desecrate spell doubles this limit.

The undead you create remain under your control indefinitely. No matter how many times you use this spell, however, you can control only 4 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level. If you exceed this number, all the newly created creatures fall under your control, and any excess undead from previous castings become uncontrolled. You choose which creatures are released. Undead you control through the Command Undead feat do not count toward this limit.

Skeletons: A skeleton can be created only from a mostly intact corpse or skeleton. The corpse must have bones. If a skeleton is made from a corpse, the flesh falls off the bones.

Zombies: A zombie can be created only from a mostly intact corpse. The corpse must be that of a creature with a physical anatomy.

[TGMaxMaxer]

Well... they are mindless. He can direct them on his turn, but tactical combat decisions are not available to skeletons and zombies.

If the creature naturally had a combat maneuver (such as a wolf tripping on a bite attack) I would say it would keep it, but a human fighter-turned zombie wouldn't have the mind to attempt a trip or disarm attack.

If you want to give the player this kind of option, make it similar to the handle animal type skill. Give them a number of "tricks" (1/3 caster levels or such) that he can program into them... I would make this a 2nd level spell cast on a mindless undead... each target requires it's own spell, can have 1 "trained" undead per caster level.