If I am issued a summons and I plan to answer on my own and I still the defendant or are they now the defendant on the answer

First its not a good idea to piggyback your question on someone else's. This can lead to confusion. You should start a new thread. So I've moved your question to its own thread.

The party that filed the suit is the plaintiff, the party being sued is the defendant. That doesn't change. Even if you file a counter suit you are still the defendant in the original case.