neebis,
Thank you for the constructive criticism. You have inspired me to try out some things I've been kicking around. I have updated my script to 6.00. Turns out that I've nearly eliminated the problems you're showing with the Stormtroopers in smoke and the Rebel pic immediately following it, and it seems to have not hurt the stabilization too much! Please try it out and let me know what you think. (screen caps are nice BTW)
-G