I just went through about 50 Hocus Chimaeras (maybe more) to get 3 Hocus Chimaera feathers for a quest. I forget what the reward was. It wasn't fantastic. I think it was an accessory that will only be useful for Alchemy later. I'm actually at the final dungeon of the game, but I'm plodding around doing quests and fighting monsters to level up all my characters to 40 before I even walk in there.
I also have to grind for cash so I can buy better equipment in Upover. Gold Golems in Gleeba drop 505 gold per kill, so that ain't bad. Very few quests have given me really worthwhile items, though. One exception was giving a prisoner at the bottom of the Coffinwell well a pair of Hammer Handrills. It was a tough decision because once I alchemized them, they turned out to be better claws than my Martial Artist had! So I saved my game in case the reward was crappy. However, it turned out to be a pretty fair trade: he gave me an Unhappy Hat, which is the best hat I've got, even better than the Dragon Warrior Helm.