I sometimes run my Farmer ( Radiation Melee/Fiery Aura/Pyre Brute ) Sonny Burns at +4x8 being played Manually, with my Main Tank ( Invulnerable/Super Strength ) Marine X set to follow him with Foot Stomp on Auto, and Maneuvers and Tactics on. I can't say if there are any changes to the earnings but it goes much quicker. It is also a lot more fun to watch the COS Players flying all over the place when Foot Stomp activates. Marine really doesn't seem to have any difficulty with Survivability and also helps split the Aggro with Sonny, which allows me to relax and enjoy the Mayhem.
EDIT: This inspired me to create Sonny an actual sidekick, a Spines/Fiery Aura Brute aptly named " Kabob ", and they say all the good names are taken, hmmf.