I think they should just make familiars be a feat that anyone can take. It is not like the concept of a familiar is limited to just wizards, anyway. The "familiar" is just a subset of the general idea of the magical pet/ally.
Also, the need to make familiars more useful. As a living stat buff, they really arn't interesting at all. More needs to be made of the fact that they are physical, living creatures. The best use I have seen of familiars was in a board game, where one option is having a pair of ferrets who can easily grab treasure off the ground and move around items between allies in the heat of battle.
Also, the big thing is that people shouldn't have to worry about familiars in a fight. I think they should be lucky, small, and skilled enough that you just say they will not get hurt in battle unless specifically targetted, and will always stay out of the way. They shouldn't be fragile.
The best pop culture versions of familiars that I cna think of are the wind mouse Hanpan from the videogame RPG Wild Arms, Pooka from Wild Arms 2, Navi from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Puck from the manga Berserk. Interestingly, three of those are teamed up with swordsmen, and the last is teamed up with a Shaman/Druid character. One provides advice and a light source, one is a jokester who opens chests and hits switches, one can combine with magical powers to transform into a monster (and hits switches and opens chests), and the last provides humor and is a constant source of healing.
Edit: Another thought is that the undead monkey Jack from Pirates of the Carribean is another good example of a familiar. Does anyone have more good examples?
