There are a lot of numbers in there, and questions, but the answer in the end is simple. It doesn't matter what partitioned the drive, Panther is fine.
If you make a copy of an Intel Mac on a partition, only an Intel Mac can boot from that partition. Other partitions on the same drive can host copies from Power PC based Macs. But a copy of a Power PC based Mac cannot be used to boot an Intel Mac.
It sounds like you understand that, so you're in good shape.
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--Dave Nanian
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