This is part of why I love the Saiyan Saga so much. The power scaling was at the right level where it hit superhero-ish "fate of the world" levels but didn't get ridiculous
It was the best DBZ arc because of that I think. There was so much tension and the stakes felt so huge.
The Frieza arc was great too, but was the beginning of the end in my mind. It could have been salvaged had they actually dropped Goku and focused on Gohan completely after that, but Android/Cell saga screwed the pooch and just kept jacking up the power levels for everyone and by the time Buu Saga began the plot was totally lost and it was the "how crazy can we get and also do everything to keep Goku the star" series.
What I wish they did post Frieza arc was to make SSJ Goku and Frieza pinnacles that everyone then struggled, immensely, to reach, not the new baseline, but instead they just went on to try and boost everyone to their level and way beyond ASAP. Being SSJ was supposed to be a legendary only ever happened once before thing and then suddenly everyone was doing it and going beyond it like it was nothing. Trunks, his introduction and everything about him was the worst thing ever, despite everyone seemingly loving the shit out of that scene and him to my complete astonishment.
It would have been a lot cooler and more compelling to have toned things down and focused on Gohan having his own low key DB style adventures. Trying to live up to his father's legacy, while also being his own person. Which they did to an extent in the Cell Saga and parts of Buu saga, with their time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and Gohan's relationship with Android 16 and what not, but it was too rushed and power levels too great to impart any real lasting meaning or stakes. Especially with how they handled him during Buu. Sure the end of Cell saga was boss as shit, but series as a whole was just too over the top afterwards to ever really be serious again.
You could totally do the Android/Cell saga mostly the same way with the power levels dropped down dramatically to non-SSJ levels. Instead of Gohan reaching SSJ2 at the end, just have him reach SSJ on his own in the final moments. Cut out Trunks, Goku and their nonsense. Keep Vegeta but don't let him reach SSJ but continue to struggle and grapple with trying to surpass Kakarot. Develop his character arc similarly becoming more selfless but in service to Gohan and the others.
This ramping up of powers and stakes also hurt things as there rarely was time for any kind of interesting downtime in the DBZ arcs. What was done was always over the top comedy bits that felt kind of forced and out of place. They incorporated the Tournament into things but it was just window dressing, there was no drama there, it was always about some world ending catastrophe. Probably one of my favorite point during the Cell saga was after Gohan and Goku leave the time chamber and Gohan is just chilling and has his little side conflict with Mercenary Tao. That was a great little side story and what I wish Gohan was doing all the time and should have been a full arc or two before getting to the real serious Android/Cell sagas as outlined.
That's what made DB great. It could balance things out with high stakes drama and low stakes drama. Your Red Ribbon and Piccolos threatening nations and the world and then your Tournaments with internal drama and rivalries with Tienshinhan and the like.
Edit: Fuck. I spend way too much fucking time thinking about DB.