Elementals are 3rd level! Otherwise, what else could they be. What kind of level is "worse than 3rd rank, but better than 2nd". And it's specifically them that are summoned, not griffins

The point is exactly that: 1st-level summoning magic is on the first floor, 2nd-level on the second, 3rd-level on the FOURTH, and 4th-level on the fifth floors of the MageGuild.
I don't remember which level these neutrals belong to (in the editor), but the fact that the summoning of elementals was placed on the 3rd floor of magic (intermediate) is an indisputable fact....
P.S. Try comparing the stats of elementals with representatives of the 2nd and 3rd levels ... they clearly don't reach the 3rd, and aren't even close to the second