DRY and other refactors.

We are always looking for ways to improve the manageability, readability, and simplicity of our code through refactoring it.

We'd love to hear your proposal, whether it's a refactor to adhere to DRY ("Don't Repeat Yourself"), a package or tool that would handle functionality better, etc.

The issue names no file, test, entry point, or specific refactor. Review the comb_utils package to identify duplicated or overly complex code, then propose a focused change with maintainer agreement before defining tests and completion criteria.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.