by cybernex
The mechanic WAS tested, and was actually THE mechanic before it was changed to the current mechanic.As Kevin (Krieghund) observed, it's essentially a matter of supension of disbelief and "ugliness" of seeing companions (who are not Nazgul on Winged Beasts) pop up on the board in different places in one go.
From the point of view of game balance, it does not change things too much for normal gameplay (but 2nd Edition rules do not really need any boost for the Fellowship), except that I'm quite sure that in the hands of a very good player (like our esteemed Magic Geek) it would help FPMV chances A LOT...
For everybody who likes to see Companions more involved in the military side of things, the upcoming expansion, Lords of Middle-earth, offers a different solution - soon to be explained in detail in one of my upcoming articles.