Knightfall is what strengthened the Bat family and that's why in the future stories , especially in the 90s and 2000s, the Bat-family were a cohesive unit. Throughout Knightfall Bruce believes that he has to take down Bane alone--he doesn't even want Tim helping him. However afterwards most of the bigger stories feature Batman seeking assistance and all the characters working as a team. That's honestly why characters like Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Huntress, Oracle etc are so popular. Knightfall made the Bat-family necessary.