Rhoa companion

Some things that stand out with the Rhoa. Although I'm in tier 8 maps and not playing as much. Overall I like it.

1) While not mounted its a useful decoy totem. It doesn't taunt however monsters will attack the Rhoa and not you. Bosses however will target you instead.

2) The notable Nurturing Guardian is helpful for keeping the Rhoa alive. However if you're not comfortable with flask pressing I'm not sure if its worth taking. If the Rhoa is used as a aurobot its worth considering.

3) Unspoken Bond notable not needed for low/mid tier maps but perhaps it may be beneficial in tier 15 maps. Also consider those points if you're using an ethical build and not using Lightning Spear + Storm Lance. Having big damage means you can get away with a less tanky Rhoa.

4) De-activate the Rhoa in Trial of Sekhema trap rooms. The bird will walk into fire traps and kill itself, and it may also remove your Honour. Tatientel2 had a similar situation in Sekhema and a reviving permanent minion had spawned in the fire traps.

5) Nice counter to the rare mob Proximal Tangibility. The Rhoa can be next to the rare monster while you're far away.

6) While mounted, I haven't explored the game as much. One main use I see is the Deliberation Support gem where you get 20% more damage at the cost of 30% more movement speed penalty ... which mounting the Rhoa negates the downside.

7) Does little damage. However someone out there smarter than me might find a way for it to deal damage to bosses and while mapping.

The Rhoa is good until you get to XI+ waystones. If you don't have over 30k+ tooltip on your main damage dealing skill you likely will still get surrounded, heavy stunned, and possibly die.

I rode the Rhoa until Tier XI, but I am stopping until I actually find a greater/perfect jewelers orb... you would think by level 8x you would find one but GGG doesn't like to make skill links easy to get in PoE2. Until then, the Rhoa is just a distraction for enemies (as you stated).

I agree with everything you said in your numbered list.

Even with great evasion this rhoa is a big problem with survivability, if the stun scale is full you are more likely to be killed.