I use a Radiance with mine and it works fine for the most part. The hazer doesn't seem to like to put out much at the lowest possible settings but it does get control from the Freekie fine. I used my smoke button the Freekie. I left the inactive setting as a very low setting for constant hazing and then programmed the active scene as a higher value so that I could just bump the output when needed.
I didn't see 20 channels in his post. I saw 4 spots that would have to run in the 11 channel mode, 4 leds lights, and 8 conventionals. He would have to gang up a few lights to get down to 12, but I only saw 16 total so it doesn't seem too bad.
I do shows on the fly leaving the board in edit mode. I sort of like working it like that. I also have made a few shows with pars and just bring in the Martin scanners while the show runs by adding them to the show in progress. I have my Radiance hazer on the smoke button, and I have lasers set on the button where strobes are labeled. If I had another 8 fixtures on it, and I a few more macro movements, I would just use it. I have a Magic 260 board, and find that although it has a lot more power than the Freekie, I really don't like to use it at all. I think when I do leave the Freekie, it will be because I also use Bluelight and am getting more comfortable with it. Once I feel at home with it, I will probably relegate the Freekie to back up board status, but I do like it for the price point it is at.