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If a PC ages to middle, old and venerable,
how do their mounts, companions, cohorts, familiars, eidolons fare up against the ravages of age, (I'm looking at you synthesist)
Depends on what the other creature is (race or monster wise) and how age affects the creature. This also assumes the creature has been around the same amount of time as the PC. If a PC has only had a cohort for 5 years, but the PC is now 90 years old the 5 years will have minimal (if any) effect on the cohort.
If a PC ages to middle, old and venerable,
how do their mounts, companions, cohorts, familiars, eidolons fare up against the ravages of age, (I'm looking at you synthesist)
I am pretty sure that eidolons and familiars do not age. Cohorts would age per their race. Mounts and animal companions would age far more rapidly, as animals typically have much shorter lifespans than humans. As I recall, the 1E/2E rules had paladins replacing their mounts every ten years -- that is probably in the right ballpark for most animal companions.
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If a PC ages to middle, old and venerable,
how do their mounts, companions, cohorts, familiars, eidolons fare up against the ravages of age, (I'm looking at you synthesist)I am pretty sure that eidolons and familiars do not age. Cohorts would age per their race. Mounts and animal companions would age far more rapidly, as animals typically have much shorter lifespans than humans. As I recall, the 1E/2E rules had paladins replacing their mounts every ten years -- that is probably in the right ballpark for most animal companions.
Animal Companions can actually be replaced every day. So the PC aging does not need to have any mechanical impact on the animal companion(RP wise the thing ages and every so often is replaced). For familiars, I assume the familiar ages normally for its type of creature (some of them do not age) and when it dies it must be replaced by paying a gold cost (which I propose we refer to as a cat death tax). Eidelons do not age...I guess...the creature type is not really fleshed out in detail. I could assume as a native outsider type of thing it does not age, but assumptions and all that. Cohorts age and die as is appropriate for their creature type.
One thing to look at is the type of each such creature. Cohorts have various types that are not changed by their cohort status, so they age as they would normally. Mounts and animal companions are and remain animals, so their aging is also unaffected. Eidolons are outsiders (not native outsiders), so they are effectively immortal to begin with. Familiars are transformed from animals to magical beasts, so it would make sense for them to have extended lifespans, especially since replacing them every few years would be a major hassle for long-lived wizards. If you do not go with that approach, then any centuries-old wizard should have the Improved Familiar feat, since as outsiders most of the Improved Familiar candidates would be effectively immortal as well.