I call the Luffy, Zoro, and Nami trio the Romance Dawn trio. That trio has a special place in my heart due to their interactions at the beginning of the manga. Also Luffy and Zoro would have died without Nami. They both struggle with navigation and didn’t even have food on their dinghy. I like to think tha
I love how Oda seemed to have fun with their dynamics. First, after Luffy defeats Buggy, Nami comments that they can’t possibly be human. To which Luffy replies that she shouldn’t compare him to Zoro. XD Nami plays the straight man perfectly. Then in Syrup Village, Kuro insults Usopp. The Usopp pirates yell and throw a fit because Kuro insulted their captain! So Nami tries to reign them in! All the while, Luffy is also getting heated and Zoro has to hold him back!
The debate between the relevancy of the Romance Dawn Trio and Monster Trio will probably never end. But I look to the Monster Trio for combat moments and the Romance Dawn Trio for narrative moments that set up the arc.