*Methodology*

I leveled one of every pet family to 70.  I then recorded their DPS (with and without CR), HP, Armor, and tried them out while soloing, instancing, BGs, and Arenas.

Each was trained in any family-specific skills (eg:Claw, Shell Shield), growl, and Cobra Reflexes, but nothing else such as Natural Armor, Avoidance, or resistances since those are available to all families.

Stats and testing were done with this spec and this gear.

For each area, I graded the families.  These grades are merely to differenciate which pet is above another.

Important things to note:

You can solo from 1-70 with any pet. – Using a ‘better’ soloing pet will just make it easier.  Take the pet that you like the best.

Any pet is usable in any area. – You can do raids with a Sporebat if you want, but don’t expect to top the DPS charts.

I know there are ways to keep agro with a low DPS pet. – Scaling back your own DPS or waiting before starting to fight can help any pet keep agro better.  However, a pet that hold agro even when you don’t, by definition, holds agro better.

I don’t care if your high ranked solo pet can’t hold agro. – Either your DPS is so high that it doesn’t matter, or you need to learn to scale back.

These are MY results not yours. Individual results may vary as they say.  Feel free to comment with your experiences, but comments just saying ‘you’re wrong’ will not get approved.  State why you thing I’m wrong.

I know WotLK will change everything. – WoW changes constantly, and I knew there would only be a few months where this review would be valid.  I’m in the beta, and I do plan to test out at least one each of the 3 types and report back on my impressions of them.