i have a long, sad history of making non-proper CO illusionists.. (before i knew about shadowcrafting and what not..)
i would intentionally take max ranks in artistics skills. to add credibility to my ability to make the illusions perform better.
99% of the time the DM screwed us/me anyway.
the only time it worked was pseudo fireballing a 1 hd kobald who chased us into a room, we had a 1 round advantage..
the false walls, the false pits, glowing weapons.. none of it ever worked... DM like evocation.