Were templates?

[Tovec]

And let's say the base form is a warrior with STR 18 (for instance). Well, if he turns into a werewolf (who have STR 13), he's basically going to now be STR 20 (base 18 +2 in animal or bipedal form).

Banshee

It has been a little while since my player created her halfing werehawk so I may be a little forgetful but this seems to be EXACTLY how the template works in Pathfinder.
Take highest stat of base creatures (animal or humanoid), and +2 to STR (and CON) in hybrid or animal form.

I do think that hybrid is too amazing in pathfinder but the template seems easy to follow almost to a fault. They dumb down a lot of the mechanics which were over complicated in 3.5.
They don't have the same well defined examples as in 3.5 but with a larger scale for customization that's a small price to pay.

ps. Can't reply immediately, going on Vacation