Also, I just cannot abide "I level them when it's appropriate" -- smells too much like there's some sort of inherent "story" going on, which I think entirely misses the point of D&D.
I think asserting that there's a point of D&D misses the point of D&D.
And you're welcome to think what you will about free-form advancement, no matter how factually deficient it is.
Play your game. Don't tell me I'm playing mine wrong.