There's a chance queueing with the chocobo will be in 2.28 though for sure it should be 2.3. They mentioned it while discussing the riding/fighting thing. I'm really not sure what their thoughts are on respecs though. As low on the priority list as it might be, it's also a relatively simple thing to take care of. The party thing is a little more difficult to take care of. Yes being a pet would work nicely as it would basically get all the benefits of a party member without taking up a slot. However, you would lose the ability for any other pt member to buff/cure the bird with AoEs etc. since a pet only appears on YOUR party list. It could also pose issues for ACN/SMN/SCH with a pet already out. They'd have to adjust pet macros or at the very least force you into putting the pet's name into them. It would also pose problems for balancing any future open world content. Try balancing when you could have a Full Party with 8 birds. Triggered content could disable birds but anything involving free roaming monsters or even FATEs would be a nightmare to balance AND to participate in. 50 people at a FATE is annoying. 50 people and 50 birds...