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Frontline guys have this in their FAQ for the LVO:

"Units embarked upon a drop pod transport, and Independent Characters attached to those units, are ignored for the purposes of calculating the number of units that may be held in Reserves. This means that a drop pod themed army could potentially begin the game with every unit in Reserves. [pg. 36, W40KRB]"

The 'don't count' part confuses my wee little brain. So, out of the following, what is the min amount that must be on the table at the end of Turn1?

HQ
HQ
Troop - D-pod
Troop - D-pod
Heavy

Ally
HQ
Troop
Elite - D-pod
Heavy

My guess is, that as there are 9 units (not counting DPs), and I'll be bringing in two units on the d-pods, along with (most cases) all 3 HQs. Both heavies start deployed. So, the minimum is 4 units (not counting D-pods) once the first two D-pods finish landing, right?

It means when you count the number of units in your army a unit in a pod doesn't count as a unit.

So if you have 10 units overall, and 7 of them are in pods, you only have 3 units for the rules on how many units can be in reserve.

Note that it's not just the Frontline FAQ. The official GW FAQ also has an equivalent entry for units inside transports that must begin in reserves.

Q: Do units that are transported in a vehicle that MUST start in reserve count towards the number of units that can be placed in Reserves? For example, must I count the units in a Drop Pod or Valkyrie towards the 50% of units I can place in Reserves? (p124)
A: No.

Ok, so you plan to deploy your army. You've chosen to start two troop units in drop pods in your primary detachment, and one elite unit in a drop pod in your allied detachment.

Primary
------
HQ
HQ
Troop
Drop pod
Troop
Drop pod
Heavy

Ally
------
HQ
Troop
Elite
Drop pod
Heavy

You have 12 units in your army. Normally up to half (6) rounded up (still 6)of them can start in reserves. However units that must start the game in reserves, like drop pods, don't count towards the units in your army when calculating the number of units you can start in reserve.

Primary
------
HQ
HQ
Troop
Drop pod
Troop
Drop pod
Heavy

Ally
------
HQ
Troop
Elite
Drop pod
Heavy

Now you effectively have 9 units in your army and up to half (4.5) rounded up (5) of them can start in reserves. However units that start embarked inside units that must start in reserves must also start in reserves and also don't count towards the units in your army. (as supported by the faq)

Primary
------
HQ
HQ
Troop
Drop pod
Troop
Drop pod
Heavy

Ally
------
HQ
Troop
Elite
Drop pod
Heavy

Now you effectively have 6 units in your army and up to half (3) rounded up (also 3) of them can start in reserves in addition to the units that must start in reserves.

And if you attach the HQs to the units in pods, that's 3 units in your army, 2 of which can start in Reserve.