DeathlessOne |
I've designed several of them as a GM and even played one in the past. Losing the Mutagen and Bombs wasn't that big of a deal, especially when you got an extra warm (?) body that added to the action economy every round. And one that starts off with an decent intelligence score (for a companion).
I tend to design the alchemist and its companion to work together, often with teamwork feats. You can slightly abuse the craft construct rules for modifying your companion to add some interesting abilities.