" Companions are included in the lodge character limit, and we are sympathetic to this constraint on character creation. We think that it is a good idea to relieve some of the burden that is caused when creating companions, especially given the need for companions on certain classes. Development of changes for this is underway, and we will provide more information in a later notice. "
In the spirit of this quote taken from a Developer post last December 2018, I would like to suggest a Companion Design Contest once companions no longer requires character slots.
This event will be different from the one from before where you showcase your pets and the Developers will pick which pets to be made into an in game companion.
This time, we design our own companion. It can be based from real life animal, mobs from the game, your favorite pet, or a completely original creation.