The spell control undead: “This spell enables to you to command undead creatures for a short period of time.”
The spell command undead: “This spell allows you some degree of control over an undead creature.”
… yeah, that’s not confusing at all.
The spell command undead, by the way, is a really great exploit that I rarely see people talking about. It’s a 2nd-level spell that lasts for 1 day per level and has no saving throw when used against mindless undead.
To put this in perspective, a cloud giant skeleton is a CR 7 creature with 110 hp and dealing 4d6+18 on a successful hit.
Even more significantly, however, command undead — unlike the 7th-level control undead — has no HD limit. And since it’s a 2nd-level spell, it can be put in a wand.
This spell can be very easily used to turn that undead-infested tomb the DM was planning to hit you with into nothing more than a recruiting ground.
By design, command undead is supposed to be the undead equivalent of charm person. But the longer duration (charm person is only 1 hour/ per level), lack of saving throw, and more powerful effect when dealing with mindless undead make it unduly powerful.
Absolutely! I used that trick to obliterate an aggressive necromancer in the Serpent’s Skull adventure path – I turned his own zombie troll against him, and he didn’t have Command Undead prepared himself to take it back.
The only downside of Command Undead is that it is its own counterspell. Having a cloud giant skeleton follow you around to smash things is all well and good until a rival wizard shows up with more copies of Command Undead prepared than you have. Wands help, but are quite expensive in the early game.