If Lord Asriel didn't send for Lyra...
...who did he send for ?
Notice how Lord Asriel is panicked when he sees Lyra in his laboratory, and tries to send her away. And then see his relief when Roger appears. This is because Lord Asriel needed a human/daemon sacrifice for his experiment, and he was terrified he was going to have to sacrifice his own daughter for it, but then someone else takes her place, so her life can be spared. This, I think, is the explanation for his behaviour.
But who’s doing the “sending?” We all thought it was Asriel but he always has the choice to say “no”. Is it his men? As their leader they answer to him so that’s not the answer, is it the bears then? Why would they be interested in killing children and/or forcing Asriel to use any child he comes across?
Before he became their prisoner, who did the sending & choosing then? Btw Stelmaria is a real bitch, she’s just as bad as he is. She wanted to use Lyra, in the worst way then when she saw Roger it was all good. Are daemons supposed to exactly mirror their human counterparts in terms of character & morals? For example if the man/woman is a saint or a scumbag then will it follow that your daemon is as well? There is no chance of them deviating from what you happen to be? To serve as a “ Better half” of sorts?
Foebane72 either missed the point of my question or decided to ignore it to redundantly explain the bleeding obvious instead.
As for your doubts about Lord Asriel I agree. He did a 180 degree turn when he saw Roger. And the smile on his face only got broader when Roger told him he was a serving boy at Oxford. In other words Roger was a lower class nobody that wouldn't be missed. So much for everyone being special. Asriel is a piece of work alright.
I didn't miss the point of the question, Asriel no doubt has his people sending potential sacrifices to him. And it's not obvious to some people.