I've had no problems at all with Panther.
Did a clean install (but did a "repair" with disk ut. both before AND after the installation).
I wanted to do an "Archive install" and did that firstly.
Got into trouble there, so I went back and wiped everything with a sprinkly, new and shiny Panther installation.
Of course, I have no illusions of that every app. that I used (small or big) will run on Panther without at least an upgrade or so.
Those that were not upgraded for Panther I avoided (had many smaller haxies and apps backed up that I threw away).
Actually, I try to stay clear from as many "trixing" apps as possible, for now.
I think that (since Panther is rather new) it would be wise to give it some time to get rid of the bugs (that I, thank God, have not encountered...knock on wood).
Regards,
/G