The question was also discussed in JustAGuy's thought-provoking Inferno Barb discussion.
Zyrynyala, my level 59 BF/Trapassin, is accompanied by Barani, a Cold Iron Wolf (Death Sentry is not a major part of her strategy). I equipped him with an ethereal Culwen's Point, a Lore hat, and Sigon's shield for +3 all skills, and have been very pleased with his performance up to this point (Act V Nightmare).
My Holy Fire/Holy Shock Zealot ZyrChipFinder's faithful and fiery follower, Ajheed, wields a Hellplague (+2 fire skills) until I can find a Hexfire for him. He also wears Lore and bears Sigon's shield. They're only level 40, in early NM, so I don't yet have enough evidence to form an opinion about Ajheed's effectiveness.
I only recently became aware that Iron Wolves can benefit from Faster Cast Rate, and that mercs in general benefit from Faster Hit Recovery and Faster Run/Walk-- all of which are available from the Stealth rune word. I haven't tried this armor on an Iron Wolf yet, but I intend to do so very soon.
One observation about Iron Wolves: They're a pain to level, comparable to a Cold Arrow Rogue. The quickest way I've found is simply to repeat the Act III jungles until they reach 25. At that point, they'll level quickly in NM-- as long as they're alive. But they tend to die a lot... Since my Wolves caught up with their characters' levels, they've been fine.
EDIT: I hadn't played ZyrChipFinder for several weeks when I wrote the above; turns out that Ajheed is only level 33, so he hasn't yet caught up to ZCF.
Zyrynyala, my level 59 BF/Trapassin, is accompanied by Barani, a Cold Iron Wolf (Death Sentry is not a major part of her strategy). I equipped him with an ethereal Culwen's Point, a Lore hat, and Sigon's shield for +3 all skills, and have been very pleased with his performance up to this point (Act V Nightmare).
My Holy Fire/Holy Shock Zealot ZyrChipFinder's faithful and fiery follower, Ajheed, wields a Hellplague (+2 fire skills) until I can find a Hexfire for him. He also wears Lore and bears Sigon's shield. They're only level 40, in early NM, so I don't yet have enough evidence to form an opinion about Ajheed's effectiveness.
I only recently became aware that Iron Wolves can benefit from Faster Cast Rate, and that mercs in general benefit from Faster Hit Recovery and Faster Run/Walk-- all of which are available from the Stealth rune word. I haven't tried this armor on an Iron Wolf yet, but I intend to do so very soon.
One observation about Iron Wolves: They're a pain to level, comparable to a Cold Arrow Rogue. The quickest way I've found is simply to repeat the Act III jungles until they reach 25. At that point, they'll level quickly in NM-- as long as they're alive. But they tend to die a lot... Since my Wolves caught up with their characters' levels, they've been fine.
EDIT: I hadn't played ZyrChipFinder for several weeks when I wrote the above; turns out that Ajheed is only level 33, so he hasn't yet caught up to ZCF.
Zyr