I also recommend doing a complete quick render with anti aliasing and all shadows turned off, to check there are no little bugs hiding in there (as well as checking your rigging). So far, the only problems I have had with long renders (the longest being around 3 solid weeks) have been related to my electricity supplier rather than Anim8or. A am afraid I tend to just render the whole thing in big lots. Maybe I like to live dangerously! I do, however, stick to V0.95. It has a few issues with UV textures, but it has proven itself very solid. I hear V0.96 is also reliable, with better UV control, however.
I do agree that there are often times when 2D video editing can save huge amounts of time, especially with statiic backgrounds, and even with dynamic effects like explosions. However, there are times when there is no alternative to long renders. Some of my models are necessarily very complex, and the high poly count is necessary for the high quality output I am trying to achieve.
I suppose it is all a matter of balance. Clever shortcuts notwithstanding, if you want quick renders, your output will generally be low quallty and game-like. If you want movie quality renders, be prepared for marathon render times. Hey, you gotta sleep sometime. Your CPU, however, does not!