Replace 'dogs' with 'wolves' and 'fire balls' with 'tornadoes' and you described a Druid. Replace 'dogs' with 'Valkyrie' and 'fire balls' with 'Multishot' and you just described an Amazon. Replace 'dogs' with 'shadow master' and 'fire balls' with 'lightning sentries' and you just described the Assassin...
*GASP* They're all the same class but with differently-named skills with basically the same functionality! ZOMG!
Using minions (summons...mercenaries...) to distract/meatshield while you spam a ranged skill is possible with any class. While I'd agree the Witch Doctor does resemble the Necromancer a lot in other ways, I don't think this was the best argument for that.
I would have agreed to that since his last skill is actually called reanimation except for this bit on Raise Skeleton:
Animated partially through their own will and partially through the summoned spirits of ancient warriors[...]
So it looks like they are raised using existing spirits, which would mean that they are, indeed, the Undead. However, the Necromancer's will is also imbibed in them, so I would assume they are kind of halflings.
The Witch Doctor cannot summon demons because that would be demonic magic, which was forbidden on principle agreement by all of the mage clans after the Mage War for its naturally-corrupting power. That and it calls on the aid of beings that want to destroy Sanctuary. In Diablo II, the Necromancer only conjured the Undead and elemental planar beings (like Fire Golem).
*GASP* They're all the same class but with differently-named skills with basically the same functionality! ZOMG!
Using minions (summons...mercenaries...) to distract/meatshield while you spam a ranged skill is possible with any class. While I'd agree the Witch Doctor does resemble the Necromancer a lot in other ways, I don't think this was the best argument for that.
So it looks like they are raised using existing spirits, which would mean that they are, indeed, the Undead. However, the Necromancer's will is also imbibed in them, so I would assume they are kind of halflings.