Regarding Sasuke i have a question to ask.
Does he acknowledge Taka as his comrades or he still think they are tools?
*When he was about to kill Karin he said that she had no use for him anymore.
*Juugo, he said that he will stick up with Sasuke because he can control his murder desires and he doesnt feel bothered by the fact he's being used by Sasuke as a tool.
What are you thoughts on this matter?
Does he really acknowledge them as his teammates/comrades?
Where does this argument comes from? Is it what he says at the Kage Summit, where he says they were all tools? I think he does think of them as comrades, at least Karin. He picked her as his favourite, and the right translation clears up the confusion, that it's in fact about her personally and not her abilities. He spent time with them in Orochimaru's hideout, it is said he already "knew her well" and he didn't just cherrypick his new pack. He might have viewed Juugo and Suigetsu as merely tools at first, but it's clear from their fight against KB that he at least warmed up to them over time.
I also think Karin was the most important one to him, and it's easier to just talk about her because his relationship with the other two wasn't that expanded upon. He had most respect for her, I saw her on a cover once and the sidenotes said "The Kunoichi Sasuke regards as the strongest". That's pretty cool because Sasuke is hard to impress and she's not a combat type. And the times he was emotionally moved by her. He didn't say it out loud, but his facial expression says it all in my opinion. I think whether he knows it or not, there is something about her that he finds appealing.
Maybe he thinks Taka are tools to him because sadly he won't let himself feel to avoid pain, but I think he cares for Taka either consciously or subconsciously. Did I ramble too much?
Conclusion would be that he did more for them than he needed to complete his goal. He didn't need to take Karin's side when arguing with Suigetsu, he didn't need to apologize to her. He trusted her with his life, relied on her and let her smack him around, If I were him I would not consider a tool that relevant.