I have a few questions (and possible corrections) about the MUL. I realize that for 95% of ordinary play none of this matters but since tournament play (Southern Assault and the Adepticon BTCC, at least) ask for faction-list composition, it might be helpful to clear up:
The Mercenary faction list is a somewhat confusing/contradictory collection of units. Does this list indicate generic or widespread low-level mercenary availability? If so, should those units be cross-listed when pulling up the same era's House and high-profile mercenary units (because presumably they could afford or acquire them)? Cross-referencing the Mercenaries list with Kell Hounds, Wolf's Dragoons, and the House armies I've come up with some weird inconsistencies. Here's a handful of specific examples but I'm sure there are more:
1) Vindicator VND-1R is listed as available to Mercenaries from Late Succession Wars onward, but not Wolf's Dragoons. We know from Wolves on the Border (Ch. 7, p.64) that they had at least one that they loaned to Minobu Tetsuhara.
2) Kodiak is available to Mercenaries and Wolf's Dragoons starting in the Early Republic era, but not Kell Hounds or the Draconis Combine who could both presumably afford a Kodiak on an open mercenary market, and in the case of the Combine have also had regular conflict with the Ghost Bears and ample opportunity to acquire them.
3) Timber Wolf/Mad Cat is available by the Early Republic to Mercenaries, Wolf's Dragoons, Kell Hounds, many Clans, and even Comstar, but not to any of the House armies. I'm not as familiar with the post-FedCom Civil War lore as the earlier eras, but this seems peculiar, especially when by the Jihad all five houses have access to 14 of the original 16 omnis (and all of their A-D variants), except Timber Wolf/Mad Cat and Kit Fox/Uller.
4) Kit Fox/Uller is available in the Early Republic to Mercenaries, Wolf's Dragoons, and by the Late Republic to Comstar as well, but weirdly not Kell Hounds or any of the House armies. Similar to Kodiak, this seems inconsistent with what the Kell Hounds and Houses would logically be able to acquire.