Have you taken the time to make out a gear chart to see the impact of this change? You cannot distribute the wear to more cogs if you are using the same rear cassette, as they still have the same wide spacing between. You will shift which cogs, but all you will do is use one cog you did not before (the next smaller) and not use a larger one that you did previously, and worse - you will be forced to get used to different ratios than before. In addition the 44 will result in higher wear due to fewer teeth front and back for a given gear ratio.

You also do not say which 3 cogs you use - may make a difference in advising you about options that might work. But one option would be to build a custom cassette, something like 13-14-15-17-19-21-24-32. You lose the useless 118 gear inch high, still have the 32 for an ultra low, and group the rest much closer by adding a gear between the 13 and 15 and having only a 2 tooth jump, rather than 3 tooth, for the next two gears. The 28 also will of course have closer spacing, although you lose the 28/28.

You would have to buy 3 cogs at about $10 a piece. Your starting gear would probably be the 48-24, which in gear ratio is between the 4th and 5th cogs on the 38, or if on a rise the 48-32, which is just below the 3rd gear on the 38. In other words you would be using at least 5 cogs with the 48 instead of 3.

Below are the gear charts (in gear inches) for what is probably your current setup vs. what I propose. Percents are the jump from lower gear to the higher. To build your own charts: http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

48
COG RATIO
11 117.8
18.2%
13 99.7
15.4%
15 86.4
20.0%
18 72.0
16.7%
21 61.7
14.3%
24 54.0
16.7%
28 46.3
14.3%
32 40.5

48
COG RATIO
13 99.7
7.7%
14 92.6
7.1%
15 86.4
13.3%
17 76.2
11.8%
19 68.2
10.5%
21 61.7
14.3%
24 54.0
33.3%
32 40.5