My last 50 gallons have all been under 5% with the exception of a batch of IPA that was 7.1%. I'm a session beer type guy as well.
Def check out that podcast. Also, I've found that 1lb of crystal malt and 154 mash temp keeps a nice body and sweetness for 40ish IBU beers, then adjust your base malt down to your desired ABV, and keep the other specialty malts where they were. This principle failed me when I went under 3% abv however. I'm still working on that one.