Mounted Combat

[ravenheart]

Mounted Combat Heroic Tier
Benefit: When you ride a creature, you gain access to any special mount abilities it confers to its rider. Not every creature has these abilities. The Dungeon Master’s Guide has more information on mounts and mounted combat.
While you are riding a creature, the creature can make any Athletics, Acrobatics, Endurance, or Stealth checks using your base skill check bonus rather than its own if yours is higher.

I'm finding this feat rather lackluster; therefore, I'd like to change it to this:

Mounted Combat Heroic Tier
Benefit: You can mount or dismount a creature as a minor action.
While you are riding a creature, the creature gains a +2 bonus on its attack rolls and it can make any Athletics, Acrobatics, Endurance, or Stealth checks using your base skill check bonus rather than its own if yours is higher.

and make the following rules changes:
- Mounts only grant their special ability to a rider of its level or higher (regardless if the rider has the Mounted Combat feat).
- Mounts take a -2 penalty to attack rolls if its a higher level than its rider (rather than if the rider lacks the Mounted Combat feat).
- Mark of Handling treats the rider as 3 levels higher concerning the above rules changes (instead of refernecing the Mounted Combat feat).

So, how would you react to this change? Overpowered, balanced or nerfed?

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Admittably support for mounted combat is a bit lackluster, as a player I would see your house rule as a reason to not bother with taking the mounted combat feat. I get almost all the same benefits simply by managing which mount I have, and in most games the use of skills by the mount is such a rare occurance it isn't worth the cost of a feat.

The RAW feat is one I would actually take as it grants additional abilities/powers and makes the 'knight' archtype different than those who chose other feats.