I in an interview Grant Morrison explaining how each superhero team has a theme. JLA is the pantheon of the gods. Avengers is a varsity team. X-Men is a school. Doom Patrol is a group therapy group. Etc.
To me The Outsiders worked bestvwhen they first started and they worked with Batman, each while he helped them and they helped one another with a personal issue. Once all their issues were solved, the series stagnated.
So in my mind, The Outsiders work best as a superhero support group.
That said, I'm not quite sure how the explain what the Defenders are an example of. It doesn't seem like a support group though.