Well I'm not looking to keep Pippin alive for long, he's there to protect me before everything is set up.
Westfarthing Businessman seems to be a character who should stay through out the game which I don't want to do. Also the entire purpose of using Steadfast Friend was to increase Frodo's resistance to keep him alive with the ring. And I'm not sure whether the +2 strength (once Pippin's gone) will be worth it. Also the main card I use to cancel nasty fights is
Crouched down which works almost 80% of the time as Frodo can have up to 16 resistance. I can try it though. Also what did you mean I need Saruman out first? And to keep from getting slaughtered by those fierce minions I have
Mithril Coat, Dwarf Mail