Who are the zombie astronauts in Call of Duty Black Ops?

Question

Who or what are those zombie astronauts with the weird names in Black Ops Rezurrection that appear randomly?

Most importantly, what do they do?

Answer 1

They steal your perks every time they headbutt you.

Answer 2

They have a red player's name, always one of the host's friends (unless on solo), above them in an attempt to trick the player into disregarding them. On solo, it uses random names that will change every time it spawns. Those names are usually names of famous people, or members of the Treyarch staff's names, when they kick or headbutt you you teeport to a random spot on the map