In reverse order
Familiars do tend to share certain personality traits with their mage though.
And I agree, much as I love playing in the lab, I too tend to think this can get out of hand very quickly.
That's not Monty Hall, that's straight out of core.
It's a pretty fundamental part of why everyone's been talking up the power and usefulness of familiars for years. Maybe have a look at Anulis Connectens?
The Cords are awesome. Having someone you can trust, effectively allowing you to act in multiple places at the same time can be useful. An assistant in the lab can be very useful, especially one that does not count against the number of assistant that you can normally have.
But to me, all of that pales next to the ability to invest the Bond with effects that do not cause Warping!