I actually quite liked Philemon's Velvet Room minions in Persona 2. Nameless and Belladonna really added to the atmosphere with the piano-playing and singing.

A lot of the stuff changed between Persona 1/2 and Persona 3, but I chalk that up to Philemon taking a less active stance in the world (eg. hanging around as a butterfly save point). Still, the connection's still there (tenuous, but still there). After all, the Kirijo Group is an offshoot of the Nanjo Group (mentioned in Persona 3).