Haunt Controller: To automate or not to automate

I've been mulling this around for awhile, but when I came across Pandemic Cemetary's vid on Youtube it got my belly a-rumblin


Right now I use a combination of things:
Hacked motion sensor power strips
http://hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=11139
Black and Decker Freewire
http://www.smarthomeusa.com/Shop/Remote/Freewire/
Light Objects Wireless Remote
http://www.lightobject.com/12Ch-RF-Wireless-Remote-Control-TxRx-Kit-P45.aspx
The power strips run my Axworthy, gravegrabber, shiatsu grave grabber and banging coffin.
The Freewire runs my pneumatic groundbreaker and the Light Objects runs my other pnematics (pop up, coffin leaper).
Part of the reason I use the remote control on pneumatics is that I have control over it. I press the button, prop turns on, I release it, prop turns off. Pneumatics have a much greater potential to harm than the motors I use in the gg.
I use the Freewire because, well, I bought it first, but it works really well for the pneumatic GB. It triggers a Picoboo F104 that runs the GB sequence. It is a latched switch (press on/press off), whereas the Light Objects is a momentary (it can be latched also, but I run it mom). Even though the Light Objects has 12 channels, they can only be activated one at a time.
The biggest challenge I have had is getting sound to my props, I've tried using mp3 set to loop and then plugging in powered computer speakers but have had limited success. So after watching Pandemic's vid, I was very intrigued with that little black box.
http://www.cfsound.com/index_CFSound.asp
So it is on my wish list (birthday's comin up).
So why would I want to automate?
It would be nice to have a little more control over the props, when they turn on, what sequence they turn on, how long they are on, how long before they turn on again. But do I really need a Haunt Controller per se, or can I get away with a motion sensor and a timer circuit? Or perhaps I could use the motion sensor and a picaxe microcontroller? That would give a lot more options.