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For this thread, I want all of you to put aside your biases for a moment. Put aside your biases as a player, as a Game Master, as a rules questions subforum arguer. The question here pertains to the rules of a summoned monster's behavior. I am looking forward to a robust and interesting thread here, so if anybody's overly dismissive or aggressive, I'll be very disappointed.
Let's say you're a lantern archon. Or a dretch. Or a flock of fiendish eagles. The specifics don't matter.
What does matter is that the person who summoned you just got possessed by a demon.
There were no standing orders before this happened. You can, to some extent, understand what just happened (enough to know, "I don't have to follow that summoner's orders anymore"). Even if you don't know Magic Jar, you know that your summoner is now being possessed, and that their soul is trapped outside their body. Their allies, alarmed and afraid for their friend, prepare to attack.
So...now what?
[If you cannot communicate with the summoned monster, it] attacks your opponents to the best of its ability.
Who is my summoner's opponent? Please advise! I am potentially only a bunch of dumb birds, but even if I'm a slightly less dumb archon or dretch, I'm barely even a real entity. This is way beyond my paygrade!
There are three options I can see:
1. Attack my summoner's former allies.
Now, I know, this sounds dumb. I know the demon isn't my summoner! But here's the thing: It's still my summoner's body! If it dies, so does my summoner! Just because these people are killing her "for her own good" doesn't mean I can stand by and let it happen! The "opponents" of my summoner are clearly the people who are about to get her killed!
2. Do nothing.
Shit, shit, shit. This is bad. Okay, look, I know I'm supposed to attack my summoner's opponents, but I don't know who those opponents are! The spell compels me to attack the opponents, whether I be archon, demon or elemental (or bunch of dumb birds), but maybe neither group counts as opponents anymore!
3. Attack my possessed summoner.
The true opponent of my summoner is the creature that is stealing her body! I serve the soul, trapped in a stone above her head! Therefore, in order to attack my summoner's opponents...I must kill my summoner!
Right?
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Provided the summoned creature (summee?) is absolutely certain its summoner is no longer its summoner, it is now a free-willed being and will do as its usual motivations dictates. This would include - but not be limited to - running away, standing there looking stupid or killing everyone in sight.
That's my idea anyway.
Nope, no other opponents.
I like VRMH's "fourth option". Nice and creative!
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I still think this is a really interesting question.
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"It appears where you designate and acts immediately, on your turn. It attacks your opponents to the best of its ability. If you can communicate with the creature, you can direct it not to attack, to attack particular enemies, or to perform other actions."
The person who casts the spell controls the summoned monster. It attacks enemies of the caster to the best of its ability. The summoned monster has immediate knowledge, apparently magically obtained as part of the spell, on who the summoner considers their opponents.
Given that, the question is just, "Summoner, do you now consider your body and the creature inhabiting it to be an opponent?" If the answer to that is yes, then the summoned monster will treat the caster's body the same as any other enemy and, barring further instructions, will probably attack either whichever enemy is closest or whichever enemy it thinks is weakest against it - depending on how smart it is.