There are MANY ways to do an underpainting and I am (hopefully) trying to teach the easiest one that I know. Although each technique has different rules I believe that the principles are the same in all of them. First of all, try to grasp the principles and then you will find what easily works for you.
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My main concern is that, if I don't (lighten the value}, the underpainting will dominate the later layers, especially the shadows, and prevent me from putting life into them.
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Yes, this is exactly the reason an underpainting must be kept light.
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I take your point about adding the half-tones in the later layers.
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Wrong. If I conveyed this, I am sorry.
The whole point of an underpainting is to establish the areas of general light and general shadow. And resolve the halftone...that area between light and shadow.
When your underpainting is complete, you will have to build areas of light and highlight within the underpainting's defined areas of general light. The underpainting's general light is darker than the light built in the upper layers when the painting is finished.
Also, when your underpainting is complete, you will have to build areas of warm thin shadow and dark hotter cast shadows within the underpainting's defined general shadow. The underpainting's general shadow will be lighter than the shadows when the painting is finished.
Between these areas of light and shadow in the underpainting lies the halftone. This halftone is what will show through into the top layers. i.e., The halftone is painted once - in the underpainting. The light has many layers of opaque paint in the upper layers on top of your underpainting . Your shadows are oftentimes only thin glazes on top of the original underpainting.
I hope that this is getting somewhat clearer. I do plan to write a book or CD showing and explaining this technique step by step - it is so darn easy when you can see it.