An Incomplete Theory of -Taurs

It is easy to 'grok' (sorry) centaurs. Half-human, half-horse, their behaviour and culture is obvious: they are souped-up raiders of the steppe - Scythians, Huns, Alans, Massagetae, Mongols, Comanches - who like to daub themselves in blood, drink from the hollowed-out skulls of their victims, and live a life of freedom and liberty under only the vastness of the sky.

The centaur model of 'human torso/something else hindquarters' is widely deployed (manscorpions, wemics, formians, bull centaurs, bariaurs, etc.), but rarely thought about. I would like to here postulate some important principles governing its optimal use.

First, it seems important that '-taurs', as I will call them, have to be based on an animal that has a roughly elongated, oblong torso in order that it can be easily imagined without giggles. Bull centaur works, because one can imagine a cow with a human torso coming out where the neck and head should be. Seagull -taur doesn't really work, because it conjures in the mind an image which is intrinsically a bit silly. Similarly, a -taur should not neuter the most interesting characteristic of the base animal. A crocodile -taur is a bad idea because it takes away the snappy jaws which are a crocodile's best feature.

Second, it is a worthwhile endeavour to think through what it is about a prospective -taur that makes it worth creating aside from the aesthetic. A bull centaur is a good concept because the thought of a thing that is half-human and half-bull in temperament as well as physique is both conceivable and cool, and because it suggests certain abilities (to 'charge', to get angry, etc.). What good, though, is a giraffe -taur or camel -taur? What are they bringing to the table in terms of flavour, basic concept, abilities, and so on?

Third, a good -taur has a suggestive role or culture that fits in with both halves. The centaur is a bit like a person and a bit like a horse not just in terms of how it looks or feels, but in terms of how it behaves and what it does. The same is true of a bull centaur - an aggressive, impetuous, single-minded, beast that entirely lives up to the stereotype of the angry bovine. What, though, about the bariaur - what would it mean for human beings to be more 'sheeplike' or 'goatlike'? What would the culture of the aforementioned giraffe -taur, or a rhino -taur, lion -taur, wolf-taur, etc., be?

Fourth, I will go out on a limb and say that I prefer the physical size of the real-world creature to be roughly commensurate with that of a human. One problem with bariaurs is that human beings are a bit too big to imagine sitting on the hindquarters of a sheep or goat - I know sheep and goats, and that would be ungainly. Don't get me started on formians or manscorpions. Part of the genius of the centaur is that it requires no shrinkage or giantism.

With all of that in mind, what are some suggestions for good -taur concepts, and how would you describe their character and culture?