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Animal companions get some natural armor from their base form and some from being an animal companion.
If you use the share spells ability to cast a polymorph spell on your companion, does it lose both or just the base form's natural armor?
Example:
Base form is stegosaurus, level 10 so it has +9 natural armor from base form (+6 base, +3 at level 7) and it has +6 from being a level 10 companion.
Now I cast vermin shape 2 to turn it into a large vermin which gives it +5 natural armor. Does it retain the +6 for being a companion?
Does it end up with +5 or +11?
My own asumption would be that +11 is the right answer because the +6 from being a ccompanion has nothing to do with the body shape.
The rules for polymorphing say:
While under the effects of a polymorph spell, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that depend on your original form (such as keen senses, scent, and darkvision), as well as any natural attacks and movement types possessed by your original form. You also lose any class features that depend upon form, but those that allow you to add features (such as sorcerers that can grow claws) still function. While most of these should be obvious, the GM is the final arbiter of what abilities depend on form and are lost when a new form is assumed. Your new form might restore a number of these abilities if they are possessed by the new form.
Seems to me that a familiar's or animal companion's BONUSES to AC, which are based on the master's character levels, are indeed "class features that depend upon form."
By the same logic, the animal companion should lose its bonus to Str/Dex, advancement at level 4 or 7, etc.
However, this interpretation would certainly nerf the companion almost to the point of uselessness. A cruel DM who does not think you should be polymorphing your companion says that's a feature, not a bug. A kindly DM who has no problem with polymorphing companions might make a gentler ruling and allow a companion to retain its advancement based on your class levels.
When dealing with natural armor and gaining it there are two ways the rules will word it. One wording means you natural armor increases by the listed amount. The other means your natural armor changes to the listed amount, which is not always a good thing.
If it is worded as the following you add the number:
a +X <bonus type such as enhancment> bonus to the creature's natural armor that means you add the number to the already existing natural armor bonus that the creature has.<---
Example: a +2 enhancement bonus to the creature's existing natural armor bonus
If it is worded as the following you replace the number the number:
You gain +4 natural armor bonus.
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Your natural armor bonus is your total natural armor bonus. They do not stack. It is just like if a spell such as mage armor grants you a +4 armor bonus which won't stack with the armor bonus provided by armor. However, if the spell said it gives you a +4 <insert bonus type, such as enhancement> to AC then it would stack.