The point is to have fun doing whatever it is you have fun doing.
For some people, that means doing it the way you explained above. For others, that means constructing the ultimate build for maximizing whatever it is that person enjoys, whether it be dealing damage and killing things as efficiently as possible, etc.
Whichever way you enjoy playing, the best advice is to find others who enjoy playing the way you do. I do think its possible to game with players of different styles, as long as the GM is wise enough to give everyone time to shine in their chosen spotlight.
Bottom line, there no wrong way to scale a dragon.