No, those people are silly for failing to see the greatness of K-9! As for the throne, who knows? Maybe he ordered them to lift him up there.

He might not have intented to bring her along: She keeps to herself, somewhere in the TARDIS and Susan bumps into herself when she wants to see her old home again. Or he does bring her along, but doesn't consider the significance of this before it's time for introductions. It just seemed natural.