Steven Barnes wrote:

Other than going for my CFI, what good does a Commercial do, other than
guarantee my AME a yearly visit, instead of every 3 years? Can I finally
charge a friend of mine for doing aerial photography?

you can get a commercial certificate on a Class-III medical,
no need to upgrade; you only need the higher class of
medical certificate to *exercise* the privileges of the
commercial certificate (i.e., get paid :-) --- as for
charging friends for this or that, you want to read very
carefully the relevant regulations, e.g., 14 CFR 119, etc.
a commercial certificate does not turn you into a commercial
operator...

There is nothing wrong in getting a commercial certificate
for its own sake, i.e., there is some satisfaction to gain
from achieving higher standards; it does not necessarily
translate into anything practical :-)

--Sylvain