@themick:
With regards to the Killua stuff. Yea i get what the author was going for. He even kinda forshadows it with his Dads parting words to him before he left with Gon early in the series. But how is retreating from an enemy who is stronger than you viewed as bad? It makes no sense.Because Gon is an idiot and is selfish Killua is the bad one for not wanting to stupidly throw his life away at Gons side? Just having more nen and better control of it is a huge advantage. Having special skills is a huge advantage. Gon and Killua have neither yet they keep rushing in head first. How many times do the Ryokoban (spider guys kurapika hates) have to kick your ass before you wisen up? Maybe im just pissed cuz the author gives them insurmountable enemies to fight so early in the series when they should be building up slowly. Show them the summit once then let them work toward it. Not constantly show them people way out of their league.
I think you're taking it the wrong way. Hunter x Hunter doesn't have a rigid power system like Dragon Ball Z does. Even if you're far weaker, under the right circumstances you can pull off a win. Therefore, even against people who are far superior, Gon and Killua still have a chance. I don't think that making their opponents weaker is a good idea. Let's take a look at it on an arc by arc basis, shall we?
The Hunter Exam had people competing basically on their level, with the exception of Hisoka. Hisoka was a strong foe, but he held back, so no problems there. The Heaven's Arena had people that outmatched them, so they trained to become stronger. Hisoka was, again, the only relevant opponent who far outmatched them. But seeing as beating Hisoka has become a long term goal for Gon, and the arc still reached a fine resolution, I don't see an issue.
York Shin is, indeed, the arc where Gon and Killua are totally outmatched. If they were stronger the arc would have gone very differently. But is the way it ended up going a bad way? Think about it, Gon and Killua were able to tail two Ryodan members, and nearly evaded capture. Once they were captured, they were able to escape against a vastly superior opponent by using their heads. They played a key role in Kurapika's capture strategy. Just because a character is outmatched, doesn't mean they can't interact with others in a meaningful way. The York Shin arc is widely considered to be the best in the series, and that's one of many reasons why.
Greed Island starts out with several people above their level, but by the time the arc ends they're above nearly all of them. It was an arc of growth. The two opponents they meet that are stronger than them; Razor and Genthuru, present a large challenge that is nonetheless surmountable.
And that brings us to the Ant Arc. You already know that Gon and Killua can tussle with some of the higher ranking ants, although there are some that far surpass them. I'll just say that if you think they'll fail to play major roles, you're wrong.