Reduce unnecessary subcalls with early-exit and tighter limits

[apenab]

Problem

The system may execute unnecessary subcalls, increasing token usage and latency.

Proposal

Reduce subcall volume/length by:

• Early exit when confidence is already high.
• Limiting lookahead subcalls.
• Enforcing tighter stop criteria for iterative subcall loops.

Expected Impact

• Estimated token reduction: ~20-30%
• Example target: 2.2M -> 1.6M tokens (~-28%)

Risk

• High: precision can drop if subcalls are cut too aggressively.

Implementation Considerations

• Guard behind config flags and staged rollout.
• Add safeguards for ambiguous/complex samples.
• Log skipped subcalls for regression analysis.

Acceptance Criteria

• Configurable subcall budget/early-exit policy is implemented.
• Benchmark compares token/latency/quality before vs after.
• Quality tradeoff is documented and accepted before defaulting on.
• Clear rollback path exists.