I may try Server again on my Lenovo T400 since I can't use Hyper-V from Windows 8 on it without running the server version which doesn't have the one hardware restriction. I'll see how it runs.
Although for completely different reason (which I will not explain, to save your time), I've found your post very useful. Thanks.
Great! Glad it was useful to you and I hope to others. I can add one more advantage for Server; I have had trouble with Window 8 and my dLink Wi-Fi adapter. It connects upon startup but then disconnects and I have to manually reconnect it. On the other hand, although I am triple booting with the same hardware, I don't have that problem with Server; I connect on startup and it stays connected.
No, you don't need SLAT on Server 2012. It's only required on Windows 8 because running without it can cripple graphics performance in a way that would be unacceptable for workstation use. You will be able to run Hyper-V, but you may not want to.