Yeah one always hears that a lot of the AD&D rules were commonly ignored in play... Our DM told us to ignore the infamous weapon vs AC charts, for example. We are, however, using segments and individual initiative, which is a lot more crunchy than I'm used to with LL! I mean, it does add some extra time and complexity to combat, but I think it works well if you have a DM who's on the ball, up for tracking who goes in what order, and has a good system for doing so. Our DM apparently does. I would never have the patience for it though personally!
Djeryv, interesting to hear that you had the exact experience Dan describes with the AEC -- using the basic rules as the base then adding bits & pieces from the AD&D books on top. I just played basic D&D until AD&D 2e came along, then switched to that, without any kind of cross-pollination phase.
By the way this isn't intended as a bash against AD&D -- I love it! I just mean to say that, as far as running a game goes, I'm very pleased to have chosen LL