Anyone who wishes can opt out of the happiness system to avoid having their cursor stolen.
A startup animation for the palnion can be set so that the walk animation doesn't play every time you open the game.
I changed the name of the default palnion from "default_companion" to "Shadow".
When you set the palnion to follow the mouse, it won't get in the way of the cursor. Instead, it stays to the side, allowing you to keep doing your things.