@OP, I see your concern although my thoughts were different when this was happening.

I thought, "Oh shoots, I *still* need bomb ash to make the steel to get my smithing levels to the next phase up." Local leves have been unkind to me travel-wise, so t'was looking for an alternative.

Out-leveling the friends will usually be a concern. At one step below the extreme, you may consider taking on a farming/solo War/Magic class and then set aside your level-with-friends class.