As with most gear, it always depends on the trip and the people. In general, when I go with a buddy we usually fend for ourselves when eating so we have our own system. I use a single 700 mL pot and he uses a smaller pot and cup system. Both of us use our own dehydrated meals with these setups.

With another friend, on our canoe trips we cook and eat together. For this we bring one 700 mL pot, one 900mL and one small skillet. We also each have our own stove. With this setup we can do quite a bit. For example on our last trip we had sausage, french toast and coffee for breakfast 1. Dinner 1 was cheeseburger-vegetable mac and cheese and skillet cookies for dessert.

In the end, the best is what works for you and your style. I have found that i can do quite a lot with few pots and pans and the cleanup is minimal too. YMMV