Guys, I have hundreds of hours on single engine propeller planes, and I don't mean to brag but I think I quite know what I'm doing when flying (and switching an engine off).

Blackdog, I know it sounds like that, but in some planes a dead generator really means the games are over in a split second.

Comparing the use of high compression engines with low ones (aeroclub boxer engines vs wartime radials or inline) is improper. We takeoff the Mustangs with never more than 75% throttle simply because there's plenty of power to do everything and above all you don't want to over stress cylinder banks that are 60+ years old, but in the warbirds circuit there are several pilots that firewall their engines, which often means catastrophic (and very costly to repair) damage. We had a case a couple of years ago of a mustang pilot who used to takeoff at full military power (or WEP) and who had a major failure fortunately once on the ground.
Cutting off engines by leaning the mixture is considered a bad habit by some, while others think it's perfectly fine. I think it's all down to the machine you're flying with and environmental factors.