I have never had difficulty having elite treatment (check-in line, early boarding, club access) extended to family groups of up to four people. We were never on special tickets, but the people who took care of us had no way of knowing our fare basis until later in the process. On one occasion, when AA gave me an operational upgrade from Paris to Boston, they upgraded my travel companion also when I told them I was traveling with someone else. (They seemed a bit unhappy about it, but they did it.) At the time she had no elite status.

I would suggest that you go first, show the agent your credentials, and then say "this is my family" as you show them to the agent.

Of course, policy may vary from airline to airline, from place to place, from agent to agent or even from moment to moment depending on the length of the line, his/her state of mind, etc.