werewolf shape shifter questions

I'm wondering what skills everyone thinks is better for a werewolf.

Feral Rage, Fire Claws, and Hunger. Or...

Feral Rage, Rabies, and Fury.

Or is it all a matter of preference?

And, What is a good merc to get for a shapeshifter?|||Feral Rage + Fury leeches enough life, so just get mana leech somewhere else, you don't need hunger I think. I've found fire claws not very helpfull with PIs, so I've switched to using IK Maul with 3 other pieces there or run away from those

Damage wise you're best with a might merc, but I've found him die far to often. I switched to a Holy freeze merc, and that works awesome.|||Agreed, hunger is silly. 1 feral rage, 20 fury. 20 fire claws with at least 10 in a synergy if you want a PI solution. Otherwise a reaper's toll on your merc works well against most of them. Decripify also hepls him survive so you can use might instead of holy freeze, and the -50% physical resist probably increases your killing speed more than pride will (have not tested this).