How would I create an single character with two bodies?

I’m looking to create a character with two individual models which can each be separately controlled, but as one unit. Say you have a base model which would act as the main player, which is connected to a separate model which is independent from the other, but still works on par with the base model itself. So, in short, a puppet and a puppet master.
I want something to the effect of the Ice Climbers from Smash Bros. for example.

I’ve tried to group two models together which share the same humanoid, but I’ve come across issues specifically with coloring the models individually. Since all the parts are grouped together, the script not only is “slower” due to the amount of parts it’s having to recolor, it cannot recolor the two models separately from one another, rather it does it as a whole. However, this is about two models working together as one, not the script.
I’ve also tried to group two individual models together with individual humanoids and have one as the base player, but that made a mess of everything and simply didn’t work.
Thank you in advance!