Those are both excellent questions, I appreciate your depth, Bradford, and Sidwayzracer, I have wondered that myself...  Still seeking answers.

So far, I have participated in 2 pools, and one seemed to pay out better than the other, but then one got DDoS'ed and had a higher pay per hash rate when I returned, prompting me to return to that pool, even though it limited payment to after confirmation.  My question is sort of ethically rooted; I want to provide consistent contribution to the pool, but I want to maximize revenue.

With the recent difficulty increase, I'm not sure what to do- mining at the single rig level @ the current market rate for BTC.