I've been watching as I play a Mage with a pet and it sort of seems like there might be an aggro system, but it's hard to tell. With this being inspired in part by EQ, I would like to know more about how aggro works if there is indeed a system. Managing aggro between the player and pets was a critical skill in EQ back in the day, and one that I enjoyed. We had many techniques for kiting, tanking, and even running away that were dependent on managing aggro. What rules/limitations are we working with here?

There is no active way to manage your aggro, mobs seem to either attack you or attack your pet however they see fit. I believe there is some sort of innate pet taunt skill but I'm not sure how that works.

Seems random to me! Pets soak up a reasonable amount of damage. As a magician, my pet also steamrolls 5 pulls with the fire elemental AoE plus armageddon.

I agree...they might soak up to 50% damage. And if they die, they are quick to re-summon...you shouldn't need to drop combat if you want to keep chaining.

No, targeting is random.

So the 20 point enchanter skill that gives + pet taunt does nothing?

No, it makes the pet take a higher percentage of random hits. Different pet types absorb various % of hits.