Delivering nonoffensive touch spells via Familiar

[Story]

Normally I've seen delivering touch spells via familiar discussed in the context of using it offensively during combat, which is a good way to get your familiar killed and hence not recommended.

But it recently occurred to me that this could be used outside of combat too. For example, we recently had to retrieve several treasure chests from a sunken pirate ship. I just sent my familiar (Tiny Air Elemental) in to cast Shrink Item on them and carry them back out.

Does anyone else have stories or ideas about how to make use of this?

[Giarc]

Well, if you're a wizard with some good touch range buff spells and you don't want to get too close to the action in melee, you could let your familiar hitch a ride on your party's tank or whoever is close to the action and cast spells though it.

Can air elementals even swim?

[Eldonauran]

While playing my Sorcerer/Druid (going to Mystic Therge, in Pathfinder), I often used my Familiar to deliver touch spells from far away. It was a hedgehog and it got used to waddling through the rocks (or hitching a ride on my Panther, animal companion).

Whether it was holding a charge to heal the panther, enlarge the panther, drop a mirror image on it (or other party members for that matter), it was a good way to get increased action economy. After delivering the spell, the hedgehog would know to drop off the back end of the panther (safely out of AoO range) and waddle back to me. Sometimes I would underhand toss it into the thick of battle to land on a party member in time to get off a needed spell.

The thing is, a familiar is a VERY useful class ability that ever spellcaster should make use of. They CAN use magic items, especially when they learn to speak with master. Give them a use activated item of invisibility and you have a little stealth monster. Shocking grasp, anyone?

[Story]

I never actually thought about that. They don't have a racial swim speed, but the fact that they don't need to breathe means that they don't really care about failing swim checks either. With a -1 Swim, it can swim through calm or rough water, but not stormy water. It can't take 10, which means that half the time it's not making any progress, but that doesn't really matter when you aren't in a hurry. And the fact that it has a base speed of 100 means that it's still swimming faster than most characters would.