I actually wrote up a fairly lengthy response that addresses this in another thread about whether or not a Steel Defender and Homunculus Servant can escape a grapple. Here is what I wrote there:
Under the heading "Actions in Combat" (pg. 192 PHB), there is a series of subheadings that name each type of defined action that you can take in combat. These subheadings are Attack, Cast a Spell, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, Hide, Ready, Search, and Use an Object. Of these listed actions, a Steel Defender or Homunculus Servant can use Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, Hide, and Search with the action in their stat block filling in for their Attack or Spell-like ability. You will notice however that grapple and escaping a grapple do not appear anywhere on this list. I believe this means two maybe three things.
1. The only actions that a Steel Defender or Homunculus Servant cannot use are the Ready and Use an Object actions. This unfortunately means that they can in fact not use a Spell-Storing Item or any magic items that require an action to activate. The inability to ready an action, however, is not nearly as unfortunate as both the Steel Defender and Homunculus Servant have more useful things to do with their reactions.
2. That since escaping from a grapple does not use either the Ready or Use Object actions, both the Steel Defender and Homunculus Servant can in fact escape from a grapple. Also, since the rules for escaping a grapple are "detailed elsewhere in the rules," they do not invoke the second paragraph after "Actions in Combat" which says, "When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure." In effect, attempting to escape a grapple (or any imposed condition) is a perfectly reasonable and (maybe more importantly) allowable by RAW action for any creature to take.
3. A Steel Defender since they have a melee weapon attack in their stat block can attempt to grapple another creature. This conclusion is not as definitively spelled out in the rules, but since the Steel Defender's Force-Empowered Rend is a melee weapon attack, and a grapple is a special melee attack, I would rule it as allowable by RAI. Also, how else would a Steel Defender pull someone off the battlefield and to safety if they cannot not grapple someone?
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I think I'm reading it correctly, but since the Steel Defender can't take the actual Attack action, it can't initiate a grapple, can it?
Canto alla vita
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To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
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I had a thought. What if you cast Haste on your [Tooltip Not Found]? That grants it a legitimate Attack action, doesn't it?
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
It doesn't appear that a Steel Defender could grapple or shove. I'd probably allow it, but Haste could grant it.
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I actually wrote up a fairly lengthy response that addresses this in another thread about whether or not a Steel Defender and Homunculus Servant can escape a grapple. Here is what I wrote there:
Under the heading "Actions in Combat" (pg. 192 PHB), there is a series of subheadings that name each type of defined action that you can take in combat. These subheadings are Attack, Cast a Spell, Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, Hide, Ready, Search, and Use an Object. Of these listed actions, a Steel Defender or Homunculus Servant can use Dash, Disengage, Dodge, Help, Hide, and Search with the action in their stat block filling in for their Attack or Spell-like ability. You will notice however that grapple and escaping a grapple do not appear anywhere on this list. I believe this means two maybe three things.
1. The only actions that a Steel Defender or Homunculus Servant cannot use are the Ready and Use an Object actions. This unfortunately means that they can in fact not use a Spell-Storing Item or any magic items that require an action to activate. The inability to ready an action, however, is not nearly as unfortunate as both the Steel Defender and Homunculus Servant have more useful things to do with their reactions.
2. That since escaping from a grapple does not use either the Ready or Use Object actions, both the Steel Defender and Homunculus Servant can in fact escape from a grapple. Also, since the rules for escaping a grapple are "detailed elsewhere in the rules," they do not invoke the second paragraph after "Actions in Combat" which says, "When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure." In effect, attempting to escape a grapple (or any imposed condition) is a perfectly reasonable and (maybe more importantly) allowable by RAW action for any creature to take.
3. A Steel Defender since they have a melee weapon attack in their stat block can attempt to grapple another creature. This conclusion is not as definitively spelled out in the rules, but since the Steel Defender's Force-Empowered Rend is a melee weapon attack, and a grapple is a special melee attack, I would rule it as allowable by RAI. Also, how else would a Steel Defender pull someone off the battlefield and to safety if they cannot not grapple someone?
Bark side up, bark side down, it really, truly does not matter.