As beckoa mentioned, it's possible to book by phone using two passengers' miles, but it hasn't been mentioned if the same can be done for more than two passengers. Keep in mind that there is a $15 per passenger fee when booking by phone so the savings in baggage charges will be less as a result.

2 passengers traveling with MVP benefits will get a total of 4 free checked bags on AS. In your case, this would incur a $30 phone booking charge for a net savings of $10. Sharing the baggage allowance, this amounts to one free checked bag per passenger in your party. AS is good about placing traveling companions close to the MVP and apart from the exit rows and row 6 (bulkhead), preferred and non-preferred seats have the same amount of pitch. AS will generally allow companions to board with the elite, so that is not an issue.