So, I'm starting play as a druid and I really don't want to do wild shaping or anything like that. Instead, I want to make the most terrifying animal companion imaginable, using magical items (Druid spells can already do some pretty terrifying things).
So, the rules for this challenge are simple, and noted as follows:
1.) For the purpose of this challenge, animal companions have magic item slots. These slots are:
* Head
* Throat
* Shoulders
* Legs
* Body
* Torso
Note: If you use a bird animal companion for the basis of your equipment, you can swap the Legs slot for a Wings slot.
2.) Custom magical items are allowed, but must follow a general theme. These themes can't be something like 'The Armor of Armoring, giving the animal companion any potential bonus to AC' but can be something like 'The Amulet of the Primordial Beast, giving any animal who wears it the benefits of a continuous Animal Growth and Atavism'.
3.) Any magical item a druid could wear that would help benefit the animal companion (and not the druid!) are doubly appreciated.
4.) Do not worry about any spells to be cast on the animal companion. We're just looking at equipment for this challenge.
What's the budget? 10K or 500K wouldn't look at the same items.
Also remember that armor is a slot and most animals can wear barding.
800k for budget. And Armor is an excellent addition.
Oh, in addition, Enhancement bonus items are taken care of.
I'm not super savvy on magical items however I do have some feats I could throw your way...
Benefit: Select a 1-point evolution other than pounce or reach from those available to a summoner's eidolon. Your animal companion gains this evolution. The animal companion must conform to any limitations of the evolution. For instance, only an animal companion of an appropriate size and base form can have the mount evolution.
If you gain a new animal companion, your old animal companion loses this evolution, and you can select a new 1-point evolution for the new animal companion.
Special: You can take this feat multiple times. Each time you do, select an additional 1-point evolution for your animal companion.
Benefit(s): Select one animal aspect from the list presented in the hunter class's animal focus class feature. Your animal companion has natural coloration suggestive of this aspect—a bear might have a dark spot in the shape of a bat, or a hawk might have unusual tiger striping in its feathers. Your animal companion gains the benefits of the selected animal aspect, treating its Hit Dice as its effective hunter level for this ability. This bonus doesn't stack if the animal companion is already under the benefit of the same animal aspect because of the actual class feature.
For example, an animal companion with Totem Beast (snake) under the effect of the snake aspect from its hunter owner would get a +2 bonus on attack rolls when making attacks of opportunity, not a +4 bonus.
Benefit: At the start of the day, you can choose to commune with a single shaman spirit. (Although a shaman would need an hour of preparation, this takes you no time.) Once during the next 24 hours, you can spend a standard action to grant your animal companion or familiar that shaman spirit's spirit animal ability for 1 minute per level in the class that grants your animal companion or familiar.
(personally I liked the older version more because it was constant until you prepared spells again or 24 hours
Benefit: Choose a single type of animal to emulate from the hunter's animal focus class feature. Once per day, you or your animal companion (if you have one) can gain the benefit of that animal focus for 1 minute. Treat your character level as your hunter level for the purpose of determining the benefits granted by your chosen animal focus.
Special: If you gain levels in a class that has the animal focus class feature, when you gain that feature you gain 1 additional minute of use each day of your animal focus class feature.
Benefit: Your animal companion, familiar, or mount gains the celestial template and becomes a magical beast, though you may still treat it as an animal when using Handle Animal, wild empathy, or any other spells or class abilities that specifically affect animals.
These feats would be for the character to enhance his companion. There are a ton of feats the animal could take to increase it's savagery depending on the species. Evolve Companion is great to take multiple times; increased damage, 1d6 bleed, +2 Nat armor, +10 to a skill (works VERY nice with Bully Breed).
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A goliath druid lets one throw enlarge person on the animal companion and the list of compsnions includes sone very solid options.
But I'm not at all sure that druid is the best class. Clerics and sorcerers get animal companions and have some wonderful lower level buff spells.
Are you only interested in some levels or across the entire level range?
This will be druid across the entire level range. I do recognize some classes might have better low level buffs, but I think that's going to be quite covered creating use-activated items for the Companion, and teaching the companion a trick to use use-activated items.
For the druid (slotless): stone of alliance, 5K
For the dino (slotless): steadfast gut-stone, 0.8K (cheap insurance, uses no slot)
clear spindle ioun stone + wayfinder, 4.5K (ditto)
dusty rose prism ioun stone, 5K (buff)
emerald ellipsoid ioun stones, 20K per (5 temp HP per day each, stacks without limit)
gamboge nodule ioun stone, 54K (poison immunity)
gold nodule ioun stone, 5K (it talks!)
Iridescent spindle IS, 18K (no breath)
pale green prism IS, 30K (buffs)
western star IS, 4K (can hide ISs temporarily)
(Head): batrachian helm, 26K (for swift action movement, mainly)
(Throat/Neck): vicious holy phase-locking amulet of mighty fists, 100K (assuming enhancement bonus is covered by GMF).
(Shoulders): +5 cloak of resistance, 25K (necessary)
(Legs/Feet): boots of speed, 12K (most druids don't do haste)
(Body): robe of eyes, 120K (can be covered by spells, but what else do you use this item slot for?)
(Torso/Chest): unfettered shirt, 10K
(Armor): +5 heavy fortification mithril barding, 101K+ (of whatever type the dino can wear)
Note that this is top of the line stuff and you'd be looking at quite different things than most of these early on.
If custom items are OK you might look up D&D 3.5's Magic Item Compendium.
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This will be druid across the entire level range. I do recognize some classes might have better low level buffs, but I think that's going to be quite covered creating use-activated items for the Companion, and teaching the companion a trick to use use-activated items.
You're venturing WAY into house rules territory with that. For what its worth, the absolute minimum requirement that I'd even consider for that would be an Int of at least 3. And probably significantly more than that