So, I'm building an alchemist, specifically a bomber, and I'm really pretty confused about the value of the Lab Assistant feature for my familiar (and, indeed, the value of the familiar as a whole). It requires the Manual Dexterity ability, and I'd really like it to be useful with the Independent ability, even though that would require a second feat.
So, looking at the wording, it looks like they'd have access to the basic Quick Alchemy (along with all recipes) but pretty much none any of the upgrades (perpetual alchemy, powerful alchemy, double brew, anything from my research fields, additive feats, etc). Enduring Alchemy might work? They'll be starting on my square to use it, so it's not actually possible for them to take the thing to someone else by independent action alone. Their attack pool is going to be terrible, and they're going to be missing out on any bomb-throwing feats I might have, so making and then throwing a bomb is pretty much useless... and as far as I can tell I can't just grab bombs from them without someone spending an action, so any potential gain there is also going to be really marginal.
So... I guess I could give them an order, and have them brew and feed me the result in their two actions? That could save an action in situations where I wanted to quick-brew a single elixir for myself, but that seems kind of niche. Are there any other real use-cases here? It just seems not terribly impressive for the investment. It also seems like a very specific benefit, given how broad the ability looks at first glance. I feel like I'm missing something. Admittedly, I'm also hoping that I'm missing something.