Believe it or not, I actually do like the Super-Pets

[MatterEaterLad]

Frankly, I get most upset when people pick on Comet as a lame Super Pet in that he was a centaur with an interesting history, not some feline with occasional powers...sure, probably a bone to throw to young girls who like horses, but nevertheless, Comet had human intelligence, a tragic backstory, and powers greater than any Kryptonian in that Kryptonite had no effect on him.

[NotSuper]

I wonder if Super Monkey ever fought Titano. That might be an interesting battle. Personally, I see Titano winning.

Incidentally, one thing I'll say for Super Monkey is that his existence wasn't really unrealistic. Think about it: If humanoids so similar to Terrans evolved on Krypton, isn't it probable that the planet would have the equivalence of lower primates? That's assuming that Kryptonians are native to their planet. Also, it made sense for Jor-El to test his ship before putting his son in it.

[Sword of Superman]

Well the Krypto idea works really well,but for the other super-pets,well let's just say that the concept behind them was very stretched,not mentioning the fact that a good idea became lame when is re-used too many times.
(Sorry but I MUST say that the whole Comet story is absurd expecially,but maybe i'm not remembering well,the part when he have a love affair with Supergirl )

[MatterEaterLad]

The Bronco Bill bit really didn't work well because of the common idea that he was a "pet".

I always thought it would be better to focus on him as a transformed centaur, one who was in love with Circe.

[TELLE]

JONNY QUEST made sense because usually Race and Dr. Quest weren't usually looking for trouble. Now, if Race and Dr. Quest were crimefighters or spies, you'd better believe Jonny and Hadji wouldn't come along.

I just watched an old tape of this wherein the gang receives a distress call from a scientist who has created some kind of rampaging antimatter monster on a desert isle.  Dr Q piles them all into the plane without a second thought and then uses the kids to spring a trap on the thing inside a cave!

If the superpets were overused how do we describe the extended use made of most of the central conceits of the classic Superman --the ubiquity of Kryptonite, Clark and Lois' identity politics games, Lex Luthor's multiple escapes (sometimes twice in one issue), etc.  If their humour is intrusive, how do we characterize most issues of Lois Lane or Jimmy comics?  Not to mention most of the 40s and 50s?  Susie T, J. Wilbur, Mxy, Toyman, and later Bizarro, etc.  The hypothetical line that is crossed in your Luthor/Krypto example (or Darkseid/Super Monkey) doesn't really exist in Superman (let alone Capt Marvel).
 

[NotSuper]

I wonder why Darkseid doesn't just toss a chunk of Green K at Kal and then blast him with his Omega Beams. Cosmic villains never really take advantage of kryptonite, probably because they can hurt Superman without it.

[Permanus]

I have a sort of love-hate relationship with superpets. I'm an animal lover, so I like them in one way, but on the other hand, frankly, they're rather silly (I mean, the Space Canine Patrol Agency?). Krypto and Beppo make sense in the context of the early days of the Space Race, but I can't honestly say I've ever enjoyed any of the stories I've read that they appeared in; a possible exception is Alan Moore's rather touching depiction of Krypto's last moments, when he really acts like a wounded, feral, yet faithful, dog. Oh, and that Maggin story where he falls in love.

Having said that, not so long ago I posted a facetious response in a thread about the Krypto series, in which I mentioned I would like to see a Streaky series set in a pub. This is because I used to see some friends in this pub where the landlord had a very friendly cat who used to like coming up to patrons and sit around for a while. It got me thinking, and I'm now obsessed with the idea of scripting a Streaky series in which a drunken man, who is a regular in such a pub, keeps thinking that he keeps seeing the cat doing extraordinary things, and ascribing it to alcohol-induced hallucinations.

[DoctorZero]

Many of the Pets stories actually worked.  Especially within the Legion stories.

Good call on Aquaman, Julian.  Aquaman and Aqualad didn't always go looking for trouble, it often found them, and with the addition of Mera and Aquababy they were one of the only true "families" DC Comics had.