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Hi Martin. Wholeheartedly agree with all of that!
I started off using a Cheshire EP alone (on a home made 12'' Newt) and 'Frustrating' is a polite term for the time spent collimating it. :-P
Sound advice that the Cheshire alone can be a better indicator of collimation though I've found that showing newcomers the laser method, they seem to catch on to the whole process faster as the visual aspect of it is more intuitive (IMHO). I think for visual observing as you say, getting it fairly good is good enough and over time you begin to demand more form the gear and you begin paying much more attention to collimation (and all the other little things that collectively add up to affect the views).
I agree that you do need to check the laser itself and that home made 'v' jig is great for checking. I found that the next biggest issues were focuser and mirror slop.
I think I may make a V2 of this video to explain these (again in laymans terms).
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