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Well, a couple worthwhile mentions here.
Treating a familiar as both a familiar and an animal companion leads to some really EVIL synergy, as well as quickly boosting your companion up to human intelligence :p
If you stat them as an animal companion only, even just use animal companions, you're adding a significant amount of damage to the caster's dps potential. This may or may not be unbalancing, depending on your players.
Familiars get 1/2 the masters health, so they're much more survivable than they used to be. There's an Improved Familiar feat in pathfinder, that should get you some more use out of your familiar. I would definitely suggest taking the feat rather than allowing wizards to take animal companions.
Pathfinder made familiars a lot less fail than they used to be.
Note that if you allow one character in your game to trade for an animal companion, you should let any player playing a wizard to trade out.
Couple notes that might make this bad:
Share spells means the wizard can super buff the familiar up. With the wizard spell list, I could see picking through the creature options for one with, say, a really high strength score, and beastshape/elemental shape/form of the dragon into something really cheesy :p Gotta run to bed, but that's my knee jerk concern - the different spell lists and creature buffing.
I was curious mainly because familars seem so static
I'd say familiars are anything but! They might not become stronger and deal more damage - but they're not attack beasts, like animal companions are.
They do become smarter, and not just a bit - on higher levels, their intelligence might only be rivalled (and surpassed) by their master, making them the second-smartest critters in the whole party (or, in the case of an arcane sorcerer with a familiar, the smartest!). At one point, you'll have to ask whether the sorcerer isn't the familiar's man-pet instead of the familiar being the sorcerer's pet...
Beyond that, while they don't gain additional HD as such, they do gain many of the benefits from their master's HD/levels. Doesn't make them fighting machines, but they're really great scouts or sources of a second opinion in the case of all those knowledge skill checks (they do have their own modifier, which is their master's ranks plus their own, not-so-crappy Int). And there's the deliver touch spell thing.
Familiars don't gain any real HD, but they don't need to.
If an effect based on HD hits them, they use their master's HD total.
They use their master's skill ranks (but their own ability modifiers) or their own normal animal ranks (if higher).
They use the master's base attack (and technically get weapon finesse for free!)
They use the master's base saves, or their own, whichever is higher (usually the master's, but prior to about level 9, the familiar's base fort is better).
As far as utility goes, Familiars start at intel 6. Fully capable of understanding most simple sentances and a modest vocabulary. Picture interacting with an eight year old who is emotionally mature, responsible, and will actually do what you say. You may not be able to give long or complex commands, but you can certainly tell it to "go up the stairs, wait for the guard to sleep, and then steal his keys. Don't wake him up!"
At higher intelligence, you can go even crazier. Especially when you consider at about level 10, a cheap headband of charisma +2 plus the master's ranks could give the familiar a 50/50ish chance to use wands via Use Magic Device. (Possibly better, if the familiar also gets the +3 class skill bonus). When the toad in your pocket is gunning down minions with magic missels, its a good day.
No because they don't get "real" HD, merely effective ones for calculating BAB and saves.
"Hit Dice: For the purpose of effects related to number of Hit Dice, use the master's character level or the familiar's normal HD total, whichever is higher."
"A feat is an ability a creature has mastered. Feats often allow creatures to circumvent rules or restrictions. Creatures receive a number of feats based off their Hit Dice, but some classes and other abilities grant bonus feats."
If poison DC's are based off of the virtual hit dice then it seems to me that should be enough to get the feats too -- but that's just me.
I really don't see a problem with letting familiars having feats.
It's obvious that you can do whatever you want to at home. What you asked about is what the RAW says and that's it. Actually I can give you a very good reason why. Familliars unlike animal companions are essentially an extension of thier masters. They're not intended to give you a complete second character for the price of one.
Well this is the completely wrong forum for "RAW".
I'm not asking for a second complete character -- if I was I would take either leadership or ask to play two characters -- not some animal without opposable thumbs (in most cases) that are tiny with no features of their own to speak of.
They use my skills, my saves, my BAB, either they need to use my feats too or get their own... honestly that would work for me too -- if they simply used my feats.