I install the same core set of plugins to Wordpress sites - Gravity Forms, NextGen Gallery, Google Analytics, XML Sitemap Generator, etc. I played around with using "Plugin Central" for batch-installing plugins - anyone have experience with that, pro or con?
the less the better so I try to keep it below 10, I think right now I'm using about 7 for the majority of my blogs
The standard of how many changes with the strength of your hosting. If you are running basic Go Daddy shared hosting, of course less is better because Go Daddy shared hosting sucks. But if you have a dedicated server, you can get a way with more because you have more resources.
but there is still no reason to have plugins for minor tasks like adding a favicon or showing most commented posts
Agreed. Things like that are completely ridiculous. Plug ins shouldn't be used to make up for lack of knowledge of simple functions and HTML.