It's not all that, Ragnarok. Minions aren't as much of a threat because they lack intelligence. Most of the time, if the master is taken down, the minion flees or surrenders. So, yes, you could have a party of 4 characters with a gazillion minions, but they aren't as big a threat as intelligent characters that could potentially cast spells, etc.
So yes, a party of 8 characters would be a far more suspicious group than 4 with 4 minion companions. A level 4 Lae'zel might have 40 HP while her minion might have 10. Quite a difference in threat level especially since Lae'zel has a much higher damage potential than say a raven or a quasit.
