Akin DT's page

Fact1: Deinonychus/velociraptor is available as an animal companion, and at level 7, would be appropriate for a small sized paladin. It would have at least Intelligence 6
Fact2: Deinonychus is a biped, and thus has arms available for strapping things on.
Fact3: Of the 5 natural weapons (without using any magical items) it can attack with, claw is the worst. It is however, still a primary natural weapon that can be used on a pounce.
Fact4: Mithril bucklers don't require proficiency in shields
Fact5: You only lose your (shield) AC bonus when attacking with an arm that has a buckler strapped to it

Question 1: Could a Deinonychus use a bucker?
Looking at the above facts, this seems to be the case. Unless Paizo's Deinonychus is much more feathery than the one in the Bestiary, I don't see why not.

Question 2: Could it strap on the buckler itself?
While the claws can hold things, (didn't animal archive list it's category as something that can use wands etc?) I don't think they had quite the dexterity to do that, but I'm uncertain.

Question 3: What magical properties would be best for such a buckler? It can't speak command words without an item or spell to allow speech, right?

Anyone have any thoughts?

So assuming you have a DM who lets you have "non-conventional special mounts" (read: the whole animal companion list), what's the best mount for a paladin?
Assuming you're building a lancer (as that's a popular choice for divine mount paladins) would you want a speed of at least 40?

If I am I understanding things correctly would the best choices be:
(for small PCs)
(at level 5)small cat or boar
(at level 7)Deinonychus (Velociraptor)
The last one would be especially nice at level 11, when the celestial template gives it smite evil, as it has the best charisma of any animal companion.

I'm not sure what's best for medium sized PCs, as there seems to be way more options, but Big Cat looks good at level 7...

So am I missing something?