Seriously, I want to be able to make them stay near me until I give them a command to go attack (not direct their attacks, just say they may go now as opposed to them wandering about the board when I'm deliberately holding back my crew to bring them to us).

I see this as a pet leash power, not an innate talent, so there's no guarantee it'll come up when the pet does, or that the pet will be up when it appears. Or maybe instead of a leash, make it a "Heel!" command. Giving the command increases the chances that the pet will remain within two squares of the pirate for say, three rounds, because even very well trained dogs sometimes break training. That will make things like the eagle eyes talents slightly more useful since you could count on your pet being there briefly at least.