*this is in relation to a JazzProwl fanfic that I’m writing. This post is a big ramble but if you wanna read about found family and crime solving well… Here is the fic link if your interested: the light in shattered crystal
Admittedly, cohort dynamics are similar to the omegaverse, without the added gender roles. There are no alphas, betas, or omegas to determine specific sexual functions… but other traits of the omegaverse are common: like nesting, being protective of "pack/cohort" members, cohabitation, etc. That's where parallels can be drawn between cohort dynamics and pack dynamics, though they're not interchangeable.
There are no clear defined roles or positions within cohorts, but certain bots within a cohort will be looked at for leaderships/authority more than others. It's entirely based on three factors: how long a member has been in the cohort, what rank/job they have with in the Precinct, and overall personality.
Let's examine Prowl's cohort as an example.
The longest standing members are Smokescreen and Barricade. They both get a lot of sway on things and are looked to for guidance, but Smokescreen is much better at giving advice and is better at conflict resolution, while Barricade is better at "corralling" everyone into a group meeting and getting them to listen. When Prowl and X-Brawn first joined the cohort, they were very much the leaders—the ones bickering together and making decisions for the cohort. They're the ones that got the cohort the room that they have now!
However, by the time of the light in shattered crystals, Prowl is the highest rank. He's a lead investigator, and even before that, he outranked them by being a detective. Since he's expected to give them orders at work, that amount of authority does bleed into how the cohort interacts with one another. They look to him for a lot of things, a bit of everything almost. Even if Prowl's personality is a bit cold and focused, they do listen to him—sometimes—and they do know that he cares more than he lets on.
Overall, none of them have a personality that screams leader. They're all good at working together and their cohort functions more like a democracy, where every one has a voice and they all come to an agreement—Prowl, Smokescreen, and Barricade just have slightly more persuasive voices on specific topics and often the three of them don't agree. So it really is a discussion and debate between them all… but the big thing for them is adapting, because they've learned quickly that they usually don't get to make decisions as a cohort anyways. The senate makes a lot of choices for them.
However, some cohorts do have bots that fall into a leadership role on personality alone. Some cohorts do have more defined leaders than other cohorts, but it's always understood that having a leadership position isn't a trait of most cohorts.
Cohorts form in various different ways, but there are two major routes that help: cadet classes and apprenticeships.
Enforcers are cold constructed in batches known as units and those units take classes together before they graduate to apprenticeship. It's common that units can form into cohorts, sometimes even they break into smaller cohorts. Cadet classes provide a strong foundation to start cohorts due to batches being kept together, in class and in assigned barracks. However, like anywhere, cliches can form and those cliches can go on to become cohorts while everyone else is left behind…or they dissolve after graduation. It's entirely dependent on the personalities and relations formed between bots.
After graduation, the other most common route to form a cohort is through apprenticeships. Cadets graduate into fully fledged Enforcers, but are assigned mentors (usually by their Precincts or the Board of Enforcement) to "show them the ropes" so to speak. These apprenticeships vary in length but are genuinely much shorter than standard training but are long enough for close bonds to form between a mentor and an apprentice. In some cases, a cohort can become a string of apprentices joining in. Prowl's cohort is a perfect example of mentor-apprentice ship, considering that is how every member with the exception of Bluestreak joined.
These are the most common ways a cohort can form, but it can happen outside of these routes. It can happen if bots are assigned a case together, it can happen if bots go through a traumatic event together, etc etc.
Like stated in the first post of this thread, cohorts can be made of varying different social relationships. Because of this, only a certain few cohorts will decide to create spark bonds between members, and often it is only done after it seems the cohort has "settled"—in other words, everyone has a stable relationship with the others and there are likely not going to be any new members.
Cohort coding does have an affect on the bond, though it is very minimal compared to other coding impacts. Within cohorts, a spark bond can share more than just emotions. Occasionally, a muted physical sensation of what a bot is experiencing through their doorwings can be shared. For bots with cohort coding, it can be like sharing a conversation or a location, but it's as if the information is being whispered. Compared to a real physical feeling, this sensation could be described as "phantom-like" or like a lingering impression.
*I plan to create another post to explain how bonding and bonds work in this AU too
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