Knowing your lvl range and maybe Archetype might help a bit.
You're right smaller teams are more manageable but even a team of 8 can be and doesn't always have to end up with a whole lot of casualties 
It doesn't?
well not on your teams side anyways. NPC wise, sure 
Prefer smaller size teams myself , 3-4 being a good size i think. With 2 your usually better of soloing as far as xp gain go's unless you get real lonely
I'm playing a 29 Brute just now "Yellow Orchid" , if your off a similar lvl and see me online just send a tell.
I like 3 man and 5 man teams, if it gets to 6, I want 8 cause 6 and 7 dont cut it. 4 annoys me, not enough mobs to build fury and domination on cause you're sharing with that 4th person and they're not adding enough spawns......... 8 man teams are only fun when you're not fighting CoT, 2 sucs in a group and your team wrecks itself. unless you have a couple of good doms in your group, or even one good and a bad one like me is enough
"Well, they found my diary today.
They were appropriately appalled
at the discovery of the eight victims
They're now putting it all together.
Women wrapped in silk
with one leg missing
Eight legs, one body, silk,
spider, brilliant!"
Hi Frostie
Fair enough , 5 or 6 would be better for the mob size. My problem is finding a team of any size these days on Villains 
I see you've all ready got your Elec Brute in place , nice forward planning 
Was meant to be my second character, was a Stone/Inv brute, but it did my head in, so she became a name holder till something better came along
"Well, they found my diary today.
They were appropriately appalled
at the discovery of the eight victims
They're now putting it all together.
Women wrapped in silk
with one leg missing
Eight legs, one body, silk,
spider, brilliant!"
Its just 4 i think is really bad, and I dont know why, its not a good team size to be in, feels like the low point of XP. Someone who knows the maths could prove me wrong I supose
"Well, they found my diary today.
They were appropriately appalled
at the discovery of the eight victims
They're now putting it all together.
Women wrapped in silk
with one leg missing
Eight legs, one body, silk,
spider, brilliant!"
See, I'm really not so concerned about the XP. In fact, call me crazy, but I prefer not having my character gain levels out of the wazoo faster than I can comprehend all the new powers.
The problem with long protracted battles is that they drag on..... and on..... and on. You can be sitting there with laser noises and gun noises and bright lights flashing across the screen for a good few minutes just fighting one mob, if they're tough enough, which they invariably are. Instead of a mission which goes by quickly and is sorta fun, you have a slugfest.
But what I'm saying is the mobs dont last long enough on 4 person teams either, it just feels fruitless
"Well, they found my diary today.
They were appropriately appalled
at the discovery of the eight victims
They're now putting it all together.
Women wrapped in silk
with one leg missing
Eight legs, one body, silk,
spider, brilliant!"
On the other hand by not lasting long enough you get through the mission to the next mission quicker = more xp?
Never actually thought about the xp earneded to time getting xp ratio before. All i have noticed is more xp soloing compared to doing a duo as the group size doesn't seem to increase but the xp earned drops right down. I suppose the same applies again that 2 will clear up quicker allowing for more xp to be earned in the same time scale.
I'm getting a headache now. 
The end-of mission award (EOMA) for a two-man team is the same as for solo, but you get up to twice the number of enemies. Now on early-level missions, those enemies are going to count for more than your EOMA anyway. On later missions, it seems that the EOMA is at least comparable to the XP for slain enemies, if not better.
Like I say, I'm more interested in a positive teaming experience, and that doesn't seem to happen for me when I'm in a large team. Two to four seems about optimum for me.
Unfortunately, since as I've already said I hate getting the star, the only way I will be on an optimum-sized team is if there is someone who actually feels the same way I do, and doesn't have a problem with sticking to a small team size, and will be firm enough not to cave in when someone wants to invite a random passer-by who happens to be in level range.
I'm fine with trio's, they work really well IMO though not the XP earning, but feels the right amount to move smoothly through the mission, if they're good players. Very little risk on a good trio though
"Well, they found my diary today.
They were appropriately appalled
at the discovery of the eight victims
They're now putting it all together.
Women wrapped in silk
with one leg missing
Eight legs, one body, silk,
spider, brilliant!"
I like small teams. 3-4 are usually a lot more effective than 8.
I really should do something about this signature.
Well folks can always poke me if they need a team, I often put one together to help folks.
I prefer not having a heaving mass of bodies on my screen, and being able to get through most missions with minimal casualties. Conversely, most of the teams I seem to get picked up by are into collecting as many toons as possible and going on a slaughterfest.
Is there anyone who is into small, clean operations, in and out without messing about?