I think it would be nice if we could pick a companion that is either unequipped or equipped to a different wolf for a hunt. Each companion can still require a wolf to accompany it, and each can only go on one hunt at a time

As it is, you can just go swap the companions on your wolves to exchange them around for hunts, but it is annoying and time consuming and you have to time it with the bonding mechanic.

This would allow you to do something you can already do in an easier way, so it would be a nice QOL change rather than a balancing issue.

I greatly agree. Honestly, it wouldn't be too bad if they fixed the playing/cooldown/switching thing (because this gives issues on so many more areas than just hunting). But even then, it would still be a hassle having to constantly swap them around based on the synergies for the hunting (which could be very different from the synergies you'd want for the gauntlet or the campaign!). Maybe make it so that you can only use ‘any’ companion once they've reached a certain level. If they are level one, they have to be attached to the wolf you are using, but once they are past a certain level, you can always call on them for back-up. (perhaps also interesting for other features, like campaign and gauntlet)