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It's true that brass is softer than steel.
So tell us where to find brass bushings as I surely have not seen them manufactured.
There is a reason why brass is not used and I will explain why.
There are different grades of steel, some are harder than others. The gear axles of TM gears may wear down over time, but I'm sure as hell that the teeth would wear down faster than the axle ever would, negating the worry of your gear axles wearing down. This is the first issue.
The second issue is that aftermarket gear sets use steel axles. Using brass bushings would not be a good idea with these gears. Why? Exactly as you have described: because when the brass bushings start wearing down, the gears will wobble... and when they wobble and misalign, they will eventually jam and in a worst case scenario, the bushing will blow out and next thing you know, you'll have gear teeth breaking off and bits flying around in the gearbox. This will completely negate your idea of saving the gears with brass bushings.
Either way, the point of all the metal is to increase wear resistance. Steel on brass may last longer than any metal on plastic, but it will still wear faster than steel on steel. This is why you keep the bushings and gears well lubricated - to reduce wear.
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