One of the things Weber has done in the latter volumes is devote extensive coverage to the supporting cast and even spin off several characters into their own stories/sub-series.
There's easily a couple dozen recurring characters from the first two volumes who are followed over the decades of the saga. From manties to peeps and officers to non-coms. It helps maintain the tension because while the odds of Honor herself dying are understood to be zero when you're reading book 3 of a 14 volume series, the same cannot be said for other sympathetic fan favorites, quite a few of which buy the farm as the series moves on.
There is good reason why the series has become known as the Honorverse.
Weber himself has made it clear he expanded the scope because there were only so many deathrides he could send Honor on. Sooner or later, any truly competent commander gets promoted.
