Hey Bro,
1. Regarding Equipment Buffs/Passive Effects (Solo Mode)
No, the summon does not retain the summoner's equipment "buffs".
As you correctly noted, the summon is a completely different Actor in the database. The plugin does not transfer the master's inventory or Traits to the summon.
This means that special properties given by equipment, such as "Fire Resistance +50%", "Double Attack", "Auto-Regen", or immunity to negative statuses, are not passed on to the summon. The summon will only have the properties and equipment that you define directly for it in the Database.
2. Regarding Stat Scaling
Yes, scaling INCLUDES the attributes gained from equipment!
In summary:
Raw Attributes (HP, MP, ATK, DEF, MAT, MDF, AGI, LUK): These are influenced by the master's equipment and passed on as a scaling percentage.
Traits (Regen, Evasion, Elements, Immunities): These are not passed on. The summon will only use the traits from its own profile in the Database.