So then what is the point of the pending files list>
If you submit the pending files to Comodo for analysis, if they are found to be clean (no malware), they will be added to the safelist database. The safelist database is used to determine whether the firewall should pop an alert or not.
If the application trying to start is in the list and is marked as SAFE, then the firewall will allow it to start. If it's not in the safelist, you'll get an alert. Depending on how you respond, the file COULD be added to the pending list for submission to Comodo.
The more we all submit, the better and more intelligent the firewall/HIPS gets, the less alerts we all receive.
Hope this helps,
Ewen :-)