GG, it isn't so much an avoidance thing as a case of.. I don't know when, where, why those things should be used, because I really don't understand what they are, what they do, or what the purpose is of them. I would probably make use of them if I understood them. I don't understand them, so it's just a case of I have no idea what the proper applications of them are.
Nataani's materials are very simple, really. Even in my native software, DS, his materials are quite simple. I do know - and use - the more advanced DS materials and shaders when needed, but he didn't seem to need it in DS, and I don't think he's going to need it in Poser, either.
I don't, as a rule, set up AO directly on the skin of a figure, because many light rigs make use of AO, and I have seen too many times in the past where AO on the skin + AO on the lights = problems in the final renders. So I don't set up AO on my figure skins in case someone is using an AO light.
Anyhow - I don't want to derail this thread, so I'll be refraining from additional comments here.
Maybe we could move this over to the Poser Software forum? Becuase I would like to understand what these things are, how and why they're used, and what they do... but the render thread isn't a good place for a technical discussion, I think.