Weapons' Reach and Elites in NM

[Baajikiil]

Has this effect of weapons' reach always been present? The ability to hold some monsters off with a long reach? I recall Pikes being weapons length 5, the longest possible.

I can't say anything here; the affect of reach for hirelings has always been there, but I've never noticed it holding a monster off if it's not doing enough damage to cause hit recovery.

Is this a function of Griswold's TC, or was this a fluke?

No fluke. I've read elsewhere(most likely the AB) that griswold is one of the, if not the, earliest possible droppers of elite items in NM. He can drop several elite items, but they are all low end elite items(no hydra bows or berzerker axes...).