Once you have a few dozen wolves, you won't lose them all in any attack. Throw some raw meat around to help them recover. I lose wolves at a pace that makes slaughtering them for meat unnecessary.

Helping your wolves fight tough enemies like Berserkers and fire-throwing surtlings is where archery helps the most. I have a short tower that lets me see all around and lets enemies see me. My wolf population is big enough to make this unnecessary, but I like to get involved.

Like Complaintdesk, I've seen some stuff that turned me into a spectator. Valheim will do that. I've only seen trolls go down from a distance, though. The overwhelming impression was that some sort of land piranha got them.