Very cool idea, with a thought towards the way the roots grow together rather than only on how the trunks look together. This captures an element of real forests that bonsai doesn't necessarily consider. To that end, I have a few thoughts:
- in a forest, there isn't really a tallest tree, especially not when you have groupings of the same species. Of course you have different ages, but the canopy tends to be rather uniform. This could be a fun way to consider styling your forest which is, again, not bonsai orthodoxy.
- I really like the path. I think it is an interesting way of dealing with those surface roots which are, well, different. In particular I like how you traced alone one with the path, which reminded me very much of things I see out in the woods hiking, where large exposed roots define areas of erosion and hiking trails. The temptation to remove all the roots is strong, but given how you started this idea I think trying to keep them is interesting. You can always remove them later.
- that said, the idea of cutting some back to promote sucker growth is a cool way of continuing the development of the forest
Break the rules!