mini-pets

I started playing GW back again yesterday after severall months, and I noticed 2 of my heroes had a present (how did they get them ?). So I opened them and got this 2 funny creatures that walk behind me if I want during combat.

my question is: are there any advantages with them running behind me ? Do they also fight ? I also noticed that they are quite interesting on the market.

Minipets are birthday presents for characters who have reached one year old, they just appear in your inventory. Congratulations.

No, they don't fight, they just follow you around and look cute. Have a look at this in GuildWiki for more details.