Ashworm Dragoon and Paladin Question

[Commander_Vimes]

The Ashworm Dragoon PrC gives you the option of removing the Ashworm's stinger and letting it "gain the benefits of a Paladin's mount."

It doesn't specifically say that the Ashworm Dragoon levels stack with Paladin levels for advancing the mount. If they don't then the feature is almost useless as a Paladin will have only just acquired a mount at the level it enters the PrC.

Assuming it does stack, does that mean that the mount gains all the benefits of being a Paladin mount, including Strength bonuses and HD advancement, in addition to the advancement the mount gains from the Dragoon class?

[Draken]

Technicaly they are both different abilities (they are not even named the same) which affect the same target (the Ashworm).

It is hardly a problem to make them stack. At... Paladin 18/Ashworm Dragoon 10 you will have a mount that has 17 HD, just bellow you, a very good mount overall, and then it stops advancing (unless there is a natural bond-ish feat out there that can bump your effective paladin level for the mount by 3, in which case you bump the ashworm into 19 HD at level 20).

Of course, the paladin choice 'kills' the third level AD class feature, Heightened sting, but for your trouble your mount gains quite a few bonuses.

And really, you are not an Ashworm Dragoon for the sting, you are an ashworm dragoon for Stamp into the Sand (or I was at least). It is just so funny. Makes me recall my arena Half-Fiend Four Armed Sahuagin Paladin of Tiranny/Ashworm Dragoon. Priceless (keywords: Arena, special racial rules, this is silly and should not be done in a normal game mainly because you would be stuck with 7 LA).