Haha yeah, I remember hundreds of people happy for those weekends, and all us regular testers would be dreading it..
I remember in Beta, we had a speeder and it looked like a speeder bike with the front end chopped off. When you spawned it, your companion also spawned an identical one and rode with you. I remember the animation of being shot off your speeder was so long, that by the time you went through it, you would be half health from the mobs!
I also remember when companions had a "kit" slot and you could choose what role they were by buying and slotting one.