Here's another bombshell: I now use autofocus on each frame in a pano, where I used to focus manually about 1/3 of the way into the midframe of the pano. I also used to use a fixed exposure, usually the average between highlights and shadows while making sure not to blow the highlights. I still used a fixed white balance, though.
The blending power of automerge in CS5 is so good that I get better results exposing for each frame. Similarly, I get sharper detail focusing about 1/3 of the way in on each frame than using a fixed focus when shooting nature or city landscapes, and especially when shooting vertical panos that go from traffic at street level to the top of a skyscraper in the clouds.
Again, I recommend trying it before dismissing the technique.