There are standard fixtures in games I run too (all the points I made are, not too surprisingly). Games I've played in, not so much.
I've been in games where to make the PCs feel "special" (or to reduce the load on the DM) almost no classed NPCs existed which means no spell casting for hire, and no henchmen/cohorts/companions, games where magic is fungible/directable and people focused on improving their specialty almost exclusively because it was possible but expensive to do, and games where the full casters effectively dictate which adventures/scenarios are pursued because secondary access to travel, environmental survival, or divinatory abilities were crucial and if the casters didn't want to go, the group couldn't. (Note couldn't not didn't). I haven't seen a case where the non-casters made enough of a difference that if they balked, the group couldn't pursue a situation.
This is why I think one of the big focuses needs to be on a open discussion about the game defaults and the effects on the campaign in addition to bolstering mechanics in the areas.