You’d want to follow @gargabolo; he makes a whole bunch of builds that are precisely the half-pets, half-player builds you’re looking for.
I also have extensive experience in this type of playstyle, my best hybrid pet build being this one [1.1.9.8] Hybrid Pets / Aether Caster Ritualist [SR75, Video]
This avenue is completely not worth pursuing until you have a mastery of both regular builds and passive summoner builds. Most of the time, the gearing you’ll be needing to make such a hybrid work simply isn’t there.