Interesting idea, it would certainly be a different take on what's been done so far. And you're saying there's something wrong with trying to work with... uh... *checks the render that made me swear off large group scenes* 21 characters in a single scene?
Actually, if I'm being honest, my computer doesn't seem to struggle that much the more people there are in a scene if I'm only moving one or a few at a time, it's some of the hair styles or environments that really makes it chug. My computer does NOT like the pixie cut.