OP, you don't have a clue. I actually started an alt recently and I was going to try and work a strategy that doesn't involve the Phoenix team, but the fact was it doesn't make sense to ignore them in the beginning. These characters are easily accessible right away, have duel tags (rebel, jedi, phoenix) that allow for multiple legendary events, and will be useful in ships.
You just don't want to hold onto Phoenix too long, and if you did, that's your fault.