"...most of the energy that drives your system will be shunted to drive the subs, and your amp driving the main speakers will be starved and get only the meager leftovers that the sub graciously allows."
That should not the case if the sub is active. The main speakers will not be affected much but if you have high-pass filter (HPF) in between, then it will leave more headroom for the amplifier to dirve only the mid and high and therefore more efficiently. In fact, I found, without HPF, the integration of sub with the main speakers wont be as good because the mid-bass was often boosted a bit hig to my taste.