ok so I was reading on the sight a bit and got to wondering how does the count as rule works(like useing one wizard as another) cant think of a good example off the top of my head but there are a few on gw site under their army examples and such

can you link an example?

found the army I was thinking about here is the link to the army both mages are as counts as models
http://us.games-workshop.com/games/warhammer/bretonnians/painting/wd314_davetaylor/default.htm

That is perfectly fine as long as you let your opponent know and make absolutely sure they understand.

If you couldn't do it then it would be hard to theme an army.

They should still be WYSIWYG though, if it is supposed to have a staff and a sword then the model representing it should have a staff and a sword too.

so if I was to say use wolves instead of gaint rats they would fit perfectly since there is not other equipment(yes I have a fluff reason to use them already)

Yup perfectly viable even in tournaments. As long as you let your opponents know and they are GW models (for GW tournaments anyway).