David,
I have the V 2.5a. hand controller not the V3, but the mounts are still the same.
As for smoothness, yes they are smooth. Even at high mag you won't see any vibration/motor jerking etc.
If the objects tends to wander a bit, that can be fixed in the PE training of the mount. Not hard to do at all.
But most definately auto-guiding makes a huge difference for long exposure imaging. Even the largest and best mounts in the world can't track faultlessly.
They are auto-guided.
The V2.5a and earlier hand controllers are reknown for not finding Planets. I don't know if it has been fixed in the V3.
Your refractor will be fine on top of an EQ6. They are quite capable of carrying a fair amount of weight. The biggest problems arise in very long OTA's when flexure starts to be an effect.
Next person please
