Not All Who Wander are Lost: A Ranger's Guide

[Beerbarian]

Thanks again for the guide.

I wanted to throw out a query to the Ranger community:

My current group is small. There are only 3 of us, with the occasional 4th that rotates in and out between different players. So we basically only have our 3 member party. It's an oddball group, we're all level 8:
Dueregar Monk
Half Elf Bard
Mountain Dwarf Beast Master Ranger (me) Because of Mountain Dwarf Bonuses, he is 16/16/16 STR/CON/DEX

Because the group is small, and we have no obvious source of healing, my Dwarf Ranger along with his Giant Wolf Spider companion (we're in the Underdark for Rage of Demons) have kind of become the tanks/scout combo. I took TWF and Dual Wielding, so I am using 2x Battle Axes.

Here's my question: I am thinking very hard about multiclassing into a Bear Totem Barbarian. My thought is that since I am melee fighting all of the time and taking whacks on the head, the Bear Totem Barb is going to give me increased Damage and Increased Damage Resistance. Also, as exciting as Conjure Animals might be, it's a Concentration Spell, so there's a great chance that I can summon a bunch of wolves, and they all vanish as soon as I take a good whallop.

So basically because my group is so small, I feel like I need more utility out of my character. He can now scout quite well, especially with Favored Enemy Humanoids (Primeval Awareness FTW!) and when the $#!t hits the fan, he can jump in with SURPRISE! and really get in the middle of the scrum. Unarmored Defense + Dual Wielding gives me a nice AC that will go up as I will probably increase STR and CON as the chance arises.

Also my DM has houseruled that my Animal Companion would increase his Proficiency Bonus with my Character Level, not my Ranger Level. So my spider would continue to increase in Attack and AC.
I was thinking of taking L9 Barb 1, L10 Barb 2, L 11 Barb 3, L12 Ranger 9, L13 Ranger 10, L14 Ranger 11 (Storm of Claws & Fangs) L15+ Barbarian.

Thoughts and Feedback are much appreciated. I am aware that this is not going to be a crazy powerful character, but I think he will be a very good multitool scout/tank for my small party. Thanks!