Awaken (ex) Animal Companion / Horde

[7h39]

Assume you are a 9th level Druid and you're about to level up, and you have an Eagle animal companion from level 1.

By this table your animal companion has +6HD +6Natural Armor +3 Str/Dex, Share Spells, Devotion, Evasion.

Now awake your Animal Companion for mere 250xp

Awaken

You awaken a tree or animal to humanlike sentience. To succeed, you must make a Will save (DC 10 + the animal’s current HD, or the HD the tree will have once awakened).
The awakened animal or tree is friendly toward you. You have no special empathy or connection with a creature you awaken, although it serves you in specific tasks or endeavors if you communicate your desires to it.
(..)
An awakened animal gets 3d6 Intelligence, +1d3 Charisma, and +2 HD. Its type becomes magical beast (augmented animal). An awakened animal can’t serve as an animal companion, familiar, or special mount.
An awakened tree or animal can speak one language that you know, plus one additional language that you know per point of Intelligence bonus (if any).
XP Cost
250 XP.

So by RAW awaken animal is friendly (so a Diplomacy check DC20 can make him helpful) and serve the caster if asked, maybe you can share spells with him(it?) and obv it can serve you as animal companion but diplomancy make him(it?) a "helpfull" follower if needed. 7
At least him(it?) has +8HD +6Natural Armor +3 Str/Dex, Devotion, Evasion, 3d6 Int +1d3 Cha from base creature, no need to handle animal. Seems a good trade for 250xp

Now pray for 24 hours and get another agumented animal companion and awake him, diplomancy-trick him. repeat ad nauseam.

Expending the 4000xp (arbitrary) from the 9000xp needed for 9th to 10th level up you can hire 16 8hd agumented, sentient, follower-like animals.

What you think about it? it's a viable (by raw) nanobots like strategy?

[Gazzien]

Though I'm not sure on the RAW, I don't think Animal Companions keep their bonuses from their Druid leader/PC when they get awakened or are dismissed.
...
Do they? 

[Nanshork]

Though I'm not sure on the RAW, I don't think Animal Companions keep their bonuses from their Druid leader/PC when they get awakened or are dismissed.
...
Do they? 

Correct, only Animal Companions gain the animal companion bonuses.  If it stops being your Animal Companion then it stops gaining the bonuses.

[awaken_D_M_golem]

I haven't read the various Druid guide(s)
for what exactly happens when you upgrade
from one animal companion to another,
but it happens and it's normal.

So, how many A.C.s can you get and cycle through?
9th level exp per encounter covers the Awaken cost.
Now you're on the Experience Is A River curve.

Wild Empathy instead of Diplo, at animals.
Handle Animal checks to get more goodies.
Which gets everyone's fave Hi Welcome going.
Seems weird that the animal would cooperate
and want to be train-o-rama'd and improved.

edit --- and PsyRef-ing that one specific A.C. feat over and over too.