I don't necessarily disagree. I wish the little fellas could do more also, but I do use them when my sim is getting overcharged or just to "catch them all". I've never been a big stuffed animal lover though so I have a feeling they might start only being useful to my gameplay when I feel they are needed.
I do however... love, love that you can make your pet a familiar and summon them.. and dismiss them. That they get sparkles when you do. I'm not sure yet how effective they are.. I have gone to duel and my sims pet ran over to the duel area which made me feel better about it. I kept going though and eventually she was a bit farther away. I haven't seen how effective real pets are yet, but I intend to find out.. if I can stop getting cursed instead of dying.
Having that option has made me want to have pets more often, usually I only play them in my shorter term rotational houses.. I get a taste then move on.