I've dealt a bit in Flash myself, not a guru by a long shot. Derbauer has been one of my personal favorites for a long time and their stuff is always top shelf and they have some of the best designers. Flash is great if you have a fast connection, a real bore if on a slow deal-up. Small things that load quickly like animated buttons or drop-downs aren't too bad. I lot of people I know including myself avoid Flash sites like the plaque and although they may look pretty are totally unnecessary for the end results.