Simulacrum was my favourite Exile 3 spell too. I used it all the time, especially when I faced tons of monsters at once - like in golems factory for example - 3 or 4 summoned Vahnatai Lords cleared the whole dungeon for me .
I think one of the best summons at certain levels are:
low lvl: Talking Spider (poison + hard hitter), Troglodyte Khazi, Vahnatai Warrior(ranged), Vahnatai Warrior(melee), Witch (lvl 5 mage spells).
med lvl: Mad Monk, Ogre Mage, Quickghast, Slith Archmage, Slith High Priest (lvl 7 priest spells).
high lvl: Empire Archer/Empire Dervish, Lich, Mind Crystal, Crystal Soul, Order Mage, Pack Leader, Ur-Basilisk, Vahnatai Blademaster, Vahnatai Lord (my fav summon), Wizard.
I also tried the summons that you can't usually capture with hex editor and that aren't even in the game - fun times.