For me, it's not about putting all of the most powerful characters together, it's about getting a fun dynamic and covering all of the bases. There's no point putting Superman, Captain Marvel, Stardust the Super Wizard, Indigo, Hyperion, Jiren, Invincible and Plutonian on the same team, you have too many clashing personalities and overlapping powers; it would be boring to read. Look at any good super team and you'll see archetypes, powerhouse, leader, wildcard, shooter, brick, paragon, brawler and so many more. Not every team has every permeation, but the best teams have a good variety.
How does this tie into Dragon Ball? Well, a question I get asked is which DB characters I'd recruit into "my team", i.e., the fictional super-team roster I have in my head that I keep hinting at but will probably never put down on the blog here because it's super embarrassing just how big of a nerd I really am. I had a pretty good working list of DB characters I'd like to have around, but then Dragon Ball Super happened. So now I have to do different lists and justifications for all of these because of the above-mentioned nerdyness. So here are the Z-Fighters I'd consider recruiting to my theoretical cross-universe superhero team, as they are presented in Dragon Ball Super, in no particular order of preference.
Piccolo
Piccolo has always been something of an "also-ran" in DBZ/DBS, but he's really one of the most fascinating and well-rounded characters in the series. Born from King Piccolo, knowing only that he must destroy Son Goku and everything he holds dear, Piccolo's first defeat also saw the very first time he was on the receiving end of kindness and humanity. Despite swearing revenge, everything Piccolo has done since then has brought him closer to humanity, to the point where he has been embraced into Gohan's life, family and household. When called to the Tournament of Power, Piccolo steps aside from the leadership role, not because he doesn't think he can do it, but because he knows Gohan will do it better. That kind of self-awareness and humility is rare in heroes, the most notable examples being Captain America and Superman. He may have been eliminated because he failed to consider all of the angles, but Piccolo remains the reliable backbone of the team.
Gohan
Gohan has probably always been my favourite character in the DB franchise, even when relegated to the sidelines, but I was honestly really impressed with his turn in Dragon Ball Super. Gohan has always been more concerned with living a worthwhile life than being the best fighter in the universe, but in DBS he realises that in order to be his best self, he needs to be a fighter as well as a successful academic, hard worker, and good father; after all, if he can't defend his wife and child, who will? More so than any other character bar Piccolo, Gohan forges his own path, deciding not to chase the power of Super Sayain Godhood, but to be his own person, undefined by the shadow of his father's reputation. Using the gifts he was born with, Gohan uses his brain as much as his strength in battle, solving the problems that his allies just butt their heads against and (HOW COME NO ONE TALKS ABOUT THIS?) having the intelligence to know that Frieza will make the right choice for the team in the end and taking the ring-out for him. Seriously, how is Gohan not the protagonist of this franchise?
Tien
I get the feeling that people who haven't seen Dragon Ball don't really get why Tien is such a big deal. Tien was the only ever person to defeat Goku in a tournament other than Master Roshi and turned away from his corrupt master not because Goku was nice to him, but because Roshi saw through his facade of bravado. Tien sees his body as his weapon in a way that few martial artists do; he's willing to alter himself completely in order to win, because the victory is more important than his own identity. Tien will never give up trying to catch up to Goku, no matter how many forms Goku finds to transform into, because that is all he has, and he's going to make the most of it. Every team needs someone willing to make the sacrifice play, to lie on the wire or run the forlorn hope, for the Z-Fighters, that's Tien. To put this in perspective, think of Tien taking on Nappa solo, holding up Cell for vital minutes or stepping into the fight against Buu without hesitation, he knows that he'll lose, but through his individual loss, the team will win. That's fucking heroism.
Imagine growing up like Trunks; your world is dying, your species is dying, all at the whims of a pair of killer monsters that no one, not even the only positive male influence in your life (Gohan), can hope to fight against without it costing them everything. Add to that being the son of one of the most powerful fighters to have ever lived and the last of a great warrior race, yet to fulfill your potential, but having everyone count on you anyway. The poor guy never really catches a break either, getting killed as a plot device during the Cell fight, not being able to recover any Dragon Balls in his reality and then having to battle Goku Black. Trunks is powered not by rage, like most other Saiyans, but by compassion, drawing on the hope of those around him to rise to a new level and defeat evil. Trunks has been through the wringer again and again, and only come out stronger and more compassionate.
Android 17
What does a villain do when he no longer wishes to destroy? Become a park ranger for dangerous but endangered animals apparently. Guess, what? For this one, I'm not even going to harp on 17's compassionate last wish in the Tournament of Power or that his driving force is family, rather let's talk about maturity and how people change over time. Due to the time-scale of Dragon Ball, it's impossible to tell just how old 17 and 18 were in the Android Saga, but I'd have to guess early 20s, making them solidly in their mid-to-late 30s by the time of Dragon Ball Super. Young 17 wanted nothing more than to destroy the world, making everyone alive suffer for his adolescent rage, especially authority figures like Dr. Gero and Goku. After growing up, getting killed by Cell and coming back to life because of the magnanimous wishes of your former enemies, no wonder 17 settled down to a career and family. I've mentioned before that I like Dragon Ball GT's Super Android 17 as a villain, the DBS version is a nice contrast to that, with the angry young man becoming an adult with real responsibility. 17 is now fighting for others, not himself, which puts him a cut above the likes of Goku and Vegeta.
So that's my first attempt at this, taking a look at the Z-Fighters of Dragon Ball Super and how they function as heroes. I'll eventually take a look at other Dragon Ball Characters and what they'd be like in a super team, but I'm thinking I really need to justify the fact that Goku and Vegeta wouldn't make any of the lists (sorry). Keep an eye out, I have a few more of these yet.
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