I'd like other ways of interacting with animals, both dangerous and not other than just combat.
Maybe a spell that has a temprary charm effect, a way to temporarily tame a creature like a mount (something mentioned in another post), a way to disguise ourselves so that certain dangerous creatures wont attack us while we are using it. That sort of thing.
I love this idea. I think a spell who's duration scales on magick power and tames a wild creature into a mount would be wonderful, but it depends on whether the mount part of that is feasible in this game. If not, at least a blanket charm spell that causes them to fight for you for the duration.
But I like the other ideas too. We already have bartering with the Grendels and such. I think being able to befriend animals seems like a very promising thing to add that would be rewarding for players..