i think you overestimate the "extra drag".
remember the ball bearing is rolling in the race. It's not pushing through the grease. The grease largely stays put. In fact, it is the action of the grease staying put, and in contact with the ball bearings so it can rub off some lube from time to time that makes it a good lubricant for that purpose.
When you just take a bearing and spin it in your hand it has virtually no momentum behind it. This feeling of being "tight" does not translate to an appreciable amount of drag when you have something with the mass and leverage of a wheel or a crankset turning it. That's not the purpose of the lube anyway.
I would recommend reading up on some of Jobst Brand's writings about lubricants for bicycles, especially grease. Man there's a lot of hype out there.