You can have major and minor spirit animals... and then animal totems are different as well. And you can have temporary guides that will help you during certain situations.
My major is a red wolf, myminor is a red fox and my totem is a black wolf. I also have a butterfly that symbolizes my transformation for 2012.
I 100% agree with you tho. Not everyone will be a wolf (or insert popular animal). When I went through the stage of "ohhh I pick my own spirit animal", I swore it was a dog, or moscovy duck.

Also most times they don't have names and they look like normal creatures. Deamons have names and can look like anything, with funky names, colours and crossbreds of different animals. Spirit guides are usually silent and you more feel them than actually see and hear them...
After I got serious I wondered what my guide was and tho I new nothing about them, Firstly I had the feeling mine was a wolf, but I thought it was a regular gray wolf... I went to my friends mother in law who said she saw a wolf but it was red and she also saw a slinky like creature with a fluffy tail but it was not yet clear. After that I sort of forgot about all the spirit animal stuff till I went to a real pow wow with my aunt and some Indian couple I had never met came up to me and grabbed my hands and dragged me over to thiertheir area. ( I was nervous as all get out...not gonna lie). The woman asked me if I believed in animal totems and animal guides. I said yes in a way, but aren't totems and spirits the same? They told me that a totem is with you since you were born and even after death [@_@]. And spirits are with you only till you die and sometimes change wether they change all together or just change shape/ size, colour, or gender. The woman told me my major was a large red wolf and the man said my minor was a normal red fox. I asked them what my totem was and they said I would figure that out when the time came. This was all several years ago but recently I ment my grandmother who is a Blackfoot Indian and she saw my animal oracle cards and we started talking and told me she saw the same things. I saw here's as well. Her major was a appaloosa horse... tho she is terrified of real horses.
also.