Fenrisian Wolves as Wargear, part 2

Yet another reply that grew too large for the comments box... Maybe I should be less verbose? Anyways, this grew from comments on Fenrisian Wolves as Wargear:

hilander asks, "Why do you think it is a separate unit as opposed to a retinue?"
FAQ, page 2, right side, question 3, "Q. Do Fenrisian Wolves bought as wargear by an Independent Character act as a retinue during an assault? A. No... In an assault the enemy would be able to direct his attacks... [at] the [IC] or the Fenrisian Wolves."
Also, the FAQ allows the character to join to another unit. This would not be allowable were they a retinue.
So why would it be both a retinue and not a retinue?
You're correct that the FAQ isn't 100% explicit. There's still room to argue that they could be a retinue except during Assault and for the IC joining another unit. But does it make sense to say "this is X except for the majority of cases where X applies"?
Or you can say "they are a unit that must maintain coherency even if the IC joins another squad." This is not only internally consistent to the intent and SW rules, but also externally consistent to the core rules and previous FAQ rulings.

mchmr6677 asks, "Which of the FAQ rulings led to the conclusion that the wolves are seperate units?"
It was actually a combination of FAQ, SW Codex, and rulebook.
The SW Codex reads "Fenrisian Wolves bought as wargear are separate models with... the unit type 'beasts'." (SWC, page 62) The rulebook defines 'unit' as "several models that fight as a group". (BRB, page 3) Then the FAQ says "In an assault the enemy would be able to direct his attacks towards... the Fenrisian Wolves." (FAQ, page 2)
Basically, the FAQ had four ways to go with the Wolves as Wargear: Wargear, Retinue, Two Units, or a Unit.
1. As wargear, then they should be a representational model such as Azrael's Jawa or the like. They should not have a unit type nor be targetable. They're clearly not defined as such.
2. As a retinue, the character should not be able to join other units and the Wolves can be ablative wounds in CC. As shown above, there is still room to argue that they're a "special retinue", but it just isn't consistent.
3. Two Units. Each Wolf being a separate unit that had to follow the IC. However, they are targetable in CC as "Wolves" not "each Wolf". This causes all sorts of headaches though, especially for CC placement tricks.
4. Single Unit. They are attacked as a group in CC, can be joined and left by an IC, have a unit type... Then the only exceptions you have to the normal rules is that they must always stay in 2" of the character and are removed if he dies.

So basically, my logic comes down to "If it looks, smells and sounds like an elephant..." Treating them as a unit is the Occam's Razor; not perfect nor explicit, but the simplest and most consistent.

***Image grabbed of Dark Bjoern's spiffy wolf seen here on B&C...***