Good conclusions
Aldarion, I also think Tolkien is trying to draw connections to Bombadil and Treebeard.
They are two of the oldest members of Middle-earth. Bombadil teaches the Hobbits that there is much more to the world then the Shire. Treebeard is as I posted earlier, like a historian, he tells Merry and Pippin about the older days. They both have disrupted speaking habbits. Bombadil pops out into rhymes and his "dol's", Treebeard breaks up his sentences with "hrum, hoom." They both live in a forest that is perilous, but yet the Hobbits find comfort with these two characters.
In contrasting, Tom Bombadil is more upbeat, busy and fast. Where Treebeard is like "don't be hasty...don't be hasty."
Quote:
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"I'm Tom Bombadil. Tell me what's your trouble! Tom's in a hurry now. Don't you crush my lillies."
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I think Tolkien is showing their simularities, because both help the Hobbits develop into the mature Hobbits they become by the end of the story. I think the reason Tolkien shows how much these characters are both similar, yet different is for the above reason. But, they are two different people, with different personalities. Tom doesn't care about the rest of the outside world, he doesn't care about the Ring, his power lies in the forest, and he doesn't care about the fate of Middle-earth. Treebeard on the other hand, once he gets roused, he's off. He said he's not interested in wars, since nobody cares about the forests anymore, but it just took some nudging before he went furious about Saruman.
So, they both help the Hobbits understand Middle-earth better, and mature, but one cares about Middle-earth, the other cares about his own things he needs to get done.