Hmm, I don't know if you're going to find a good solution to that maximising-after-reopening problem. But good luck to you at least 
I was just wondering if you've tried Litestep? (In case people don't already know) it's a replacement for the desktop/taskbar/system-tray for windows, and is pretty amazingly configurable, if you've got the time and the skills to hack through all the config files... Currently I'm using the default theme - Austerity - which has the best implementation of virtual desktops I've used:

You drag windows between the three desktops dragging them here (you can do it by moving them off the edge of your screen, but it's slower) and switch desktops using right-click. In any case, the underlying implementation is much the same as your technique (off-screen to the right of desktop 1 is the left of desktop 2, for example) but the way you switch between desktops, and move windows between them, is, IMO, far better than pan-and-scan.
Oh and maximising works perfectly under Litestep, but most virtual window managers handle maximising fine, anyway.
edit: that image is actual size, and lives on your taskbar next to the start-button-equivalent...

I was just wondering if you've tried Litestep? (In case people don't already know) it's a replacement for the desktop/taskbar/system-tray for windows, and is pretty amazingly configurable, if you've got the time and the skills to hack through all the config files... Currently I'm using the default theme - Austerity - which has the best implementation of virtual desktops I've used:

You drag windows between the three desktops dragging them here (you can do it by moving them off the edge of your screen, but it's slower) and switch desktops using right-click. In any case, the underlying implementation is much the same as your technique (off-screen to the right of desktop 1 is the left of desktop 2, for example) but the way you switch between desktops, and move windows between them, is, IMO, far better than pan-and-scan.
Oh and maximising works perfectly under Litestep, but most virtual window managers handle maximising fine, anyway.
edit: that image is actual size, and lives on your taskbar next to the start-button-equivalent...










