Remoras - sucker fish

I get M-W word of the day. It had this to say about "remora"

Also known as "shark suckers" or "suckerfish," remoras are long, thin, dark fishes that are distributed throughout the world in warm seas. Ancient sailors believed remoras had the power to slow or even stop a ship by attaching themselves to it; the name "remora," which means "delay" in Latin, arose from this ancient superstition. The poor remora’s reputation isn’t much better today. Even though remoras don’t harm their hosts, they are popularly thought of as unwanted guests who get a free ride and a free meal by way of the efforts of others. It is therefore common to see "remora" used metaphorically in such contexts as "hungry paparazzi who attach themselves like remoras to celebrities."

 

Interesting......going to bump this one.

 

I guess I am part of the problem. I always thought they ate the flesh of the animal they were riding on, or drank the blood kind of like ticks.

Wouldn't remora's add more drag to the host, slowing it down? If they aren't hitching a free ride, what good do they do for the host?