That is, if you are in a party thats doing procs. Usually when I'm doing a NM as SMN with a group, its with my friends in the shell, and I already switched from WAR doing red proc and we are just pet killing. Most of the time, we do our procs as we kill, but some mobs it seems better and safer to pet kill. But if we want a certain proc, I'll come as WAR or BLM and proc it, switch to SMN real quick, and help kill it for drops.
At least, thats the way I do it. People are different, let them do whatever they want.
Dallas has already stated that he doesn't use Minkin at all, and that using Minkin does nothing to both the avatar and player.....yeah....Outside of abyssea it might be more necessary, but inside, with your inflated stats and DD atmas, you can keep your perp and refresh on and still perform just fine. Granted, you can take it off and probably do more damage, but it does create a sense of urgency in maintaining your MP- It's still not super difficult, because Myrkr gives so much MP back and then ups your DoT, but if you're in trouble, it could make the difference between dying and not.
He states that damage is better for emp staff to have Regain atmas on, including Sea Daughter. Because the Slow+ offsets Haste gear and Hastaga.....yeah....but Regain is better than Refresh for a SMN.....yeah.....