Actually, I did use track# - artist - name, but then I figured that since I use track# - name everywhere else, it made more sense to add the artist to the end, more consistent anyway. Technically it doesn't matter one bit. If later you need to update your library by the filename, just let MC know what your pattern is and it will take care of the rest.
Regarding the "Renaming" of your comps, they aren't actually renamed, they are just placed in a folder called, "Assorted". You don't need to use this mechanism if you don't want to. For instance, maybe you'd rather put your VA albums in a folder called "Compilations" or "Various". Then you would use Compilations/[Album] as your pattern.
The drawback for me was more typing. Though I'm not too crazy about the "assorted" name, since I can't think of anyone that refers to compilations as assorteds, I'm a big fan of saving what time I can. So, I keep my pattern as [Artist]/[Album] with the "Assorted" thing checked. This way I don't need to do anything special when I rip a CD. Incidentally, this works when you import compilations too.
Lets assume that you've got the following settings:
[Artist]/[Album] "Assorted" checked for compilations.
Lets assume you've got 2 CDs and you don't change the settings between rips, here is what you'll get
Non compilation - Artist: "Antipop Consortium" / Album: "Arrhythmia"
Creates:
Antipop Consortium/Arrhythmia
Compilation - Multiple Artists / Album: "Ultra Chicks"
Creates:
Assorted/Ultra Chicks
Best thing to do is give it a try with a comp. You'll see what it does, doesn't do and you can decide from that how best to proceed based on how you like things organized. I was a little confused at first at how to use this, but it actually works pretty well for me.