1)cognition 2.2 is really the only rom worth anything right now that i am aware of. its nice and does everything you asked for.

2)those are with lagfixes, if youre going to run cognition i believe it comes with a lagfix already installed, voodoo to be specific

3)battery life is good, you need to break them in though. the only thing i do to save battery is turn brightness down when i am inside and changed my syncing stuff back and only auto sync the stuff i need to

4)i dont have problems with the gps, some people do but mine works fine. everytime i flash a new rom i turn on gps tester and just let it sit for awhile because sometimes i wont pick up any satellites for a few minutes, but after that i get 6-10 with nearly an instant lock. works very well for me

5)dont know i just put my music on my phone

6)i only have an nes emulator and its great. there is a psx one which could be cool and i plan on trying soon

 

1) There's no "stock" 2.2 so if you want "stock" stick with 2.1. All the 2.2 ROMs are buggy leaked internal development builds, not meant for end-user use, all with plenty of known issues and new issues being discovered daily. Unless you want to be re-flashing a new ROM every day and don't mind risking all your data, stick with stock 2.1 for now. Official 2.2 is coming.

Read here:
Froyo - CapFAQ

2) Avoid lagfixes. The risk isn't worth the speed boost. Read here:
Lagfix - CapFAQ

3) Read here: Battery - CapFAQ

4) Read here: GPSnav - CapFAQ
5) Can't help here, sorry.

6) They work, as long as you don't mind the button overlays on the screen. Just remember that using ROMs for games you don't own is illegal and discussing how to obtain such ROMs is against forum rules.

As you can see, most of your questions are answered by the Captivate FAQ, so always be sure to check there first:

FAQ - CapFAQ

 

Again, as suggested before: Read the Captivate FAQ:

Uninstalling stock apps - CapFAQ

Battery - CapFAQ

 

The Cognition 2.1 (non-BETA) might be what you are looking for. Its built on the standard eclair and all the AT&T stuff is gone. All the 2.2 roms are built on a leaked build that can issues. I've been using it for 3 weeks and its been pretty solid for me. It does say "BETA" all over it so you shouldn't be surprised if it does something weird.

 

I can't recommend Cognition 2.1 due to the integrated lag fix. A dirty, dangerous solution to a arguably legitimate problem.

 

I've finally had a chance to read through this FAQ.

My compliments to all those involved.

It's a great resource, well done, and very beneficial to everyone who's new to Android, the Captivate, or just needs some solid info.

Cheers...