Ok, so I have a simple question. Will I be able to run 4 or even 6 small DC motors on 4 AA batteries (I am able to use 8 if needed though). I feel as though using 6 of those would give my robot a higher toque than if I were to use 2 or 4 stepper motors.
For a little while.
Feelings are not calculations. Torques are amenable to arithmetic.
Certainly DC motors are better than steppers for battery life. But whatever motors you'll
need batteries able to power them - again this is arithmetic (once you have the specs).