I think you should change the models of the mobs as well as their names so they aren't copies of Minecraft's mobs. It may not be the the exact models, but you still have distinct designs like Creepers and Endermen, and if you're sued for copyright infringement you'll probably lose. I'm not asking you to completely change the code of the mod (aside from renaming non-generic terms and, if/where necessary, changing the code for how the mobs move). Instead, I'm hoping you'd go a route akin to the likes of Freedom and Open Arena. The code there was more or less intact, but the art is different enough that it's non infringing.
I think you should change the models of the mobs as well as their names so they aren't copies of Minecraft's mobs. It may not be the the exact models, but you still have distinct designs like Creepers and Endermen, and if you're sued for copyright infringement you'll probably lose. I'm not asking you to completely change the code of the mod (aside from renaming non-generic terms and, if/where necessary, changing the code for how the mobs move). Instead, I'm hoping you'd go a route akin to the likes of Freedom and Open Arena. The code there was more or less intact, but the art is different enough that it's non infringing.