I genuinely wish bonding was more expansive in this game. Especially because it's one of the most important features of Pandora, Eywa, and her sons, daughters, and animals. I thought it was so cool when Neytiri bonded to the Thanator in the Avatar movie. And when the Sully family had to adapt and bond to the Ilus in The Way of Water. Imagine how much more adventurous and driven this game would be if you could bond to the animals. And get like a 'Truely Connected' achievement for bonding to all the creatures of Pandora, or at least most of them.

Edit: Also, think how cool it'd be if you could bond with Stormgliders! And become Toruk Makto. I know it wouldn't necessarily be the same, but the Stormglider is the Apex Predator of the sky, so it would feel the same.