You get XP for surviving the post-game sequence, i.e., everyone who lives to fight another time gets 1 XP, no matter if they were taken OOA or not. Same with henchmen groups - as long as one member is still alive for another game, the group gains 1 XP.
Thus, the way you play it, Arli, is not quite right. Also, it's quite harsh, doesn't it take ages to level up this way?