Ah, it all makes sense now. Because we will be shooting with different settings for the time being since we are at different levels of interest/learning curve, I don't see sharing cameras fully as being an option yet. (Too much of a hassle to exchange cameras to get a shot) Thus, I really do need a versatile "walk around" lenses for each camera, rather than have one cam with a general lens, one other, (such as long zoom).

The more I think about it, the more I am leaning toward this kit of shared lenses for the time being. I was looking through my pics, and I do find that 24-70 covers a good portion of what I shoot for general purpose, and the 50mm is the default indoor lens.

--18-200mm VR (general walk-around for the D70)
--10-20mm wide zoom
--50mm f1.4

Add: 24-70mm f2.4 (general walk-around for the D300)
(I probably would immediately then want to add the 70-200 f2.4, but I need to save my pennies first)

The main thing that gives me pause (other than the price!) is the lack of VR on the current 24-70. No doubt Murphy will ensure that Nikon will release something similar with VR as soon as I buy it!