How about having the master determine the pet stats indirectly? Have the game evaluate the overall power of the gear you are wearing (like a gear score) and apply a stat bonus to the pet/minion based on that and the critter type? (ex; bears get vit/tough/power, cats get precision/power/vit, etc)
Rangers that spec into their pet line would of course get better scaling to reflect the investment.
This would go a long way towards helping with the perceived weakness of pets/minions….
As long as the AI gets fixed too that is.