Does the phrase "His companions would dispute with him concerning analogy, but if he said, 'I deem it good,' no one would catch up with him" mean that if Abu Hanifa followed the method of Istihsan, his companions would disagree with him and not follow him?

The phrase indicates that Abu Hanifa's companions would emulate him in qiyas (analogical reasoning), but would stop short of emulating him in istihsan (juristic preference), due to his proficiency in it. Istihsan is abandoning work with qiyas for a stronger proof.