I'm not sure if this is intended or not, but it's really annoying. When a mob is set to be persistent using NBT tags. It will stand absolutely still. It won't wander around like it normally would, instead, it just stands there and will look around aimlessly. This only happens with mobs such as blazes, skeletons, zombies, and even squids. These mobs will still move though: silverfish, slimes/ magma cubes, and bats.
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No matter how close I am to them, they just sit there. If I hit them with a snow ball they will do that glitchy slow walk for 4 seconds and then freeze again.
Aha! To clarify for anyone else like me that go confused by this issue: The mob will start moving once it targets a player. So this bug really only has a big effect on creative mode.
So... what are the chances this is working as designed? To be honest, I find this really useful as is. It allows you to place custom mobs and not worry about them despawning or wandering off until it spots a player. Very useful for custom and adventure maps.
Its an intended feature that those mobs freeze if there is no player within 32 blocks around them, have you tried get closer to them?