If you're distance casting with a sinking line, you might try using a short, stiff leader. I find that helps in turning over flies. In fact, I've been using about 5' of straight flourocarbon as a leader on my clear, intermediate sink line as well as on faster sinking lines.

I have a shooting head system on my 10 weight, one advantage is that the shooting head system is a lot cheaper than than carrying extra spools with integrated lines of different sink rates. I have intermediate, Type IV, and Type VII heads for it.

Casting a shooting head is a little different. You must have the head outside the rod tip before letting go. Because of that, most will shoot line on the backcast to help get the head out. Also, you have to be able to double haul -- in my opinion, no point in investing in a shooting head system unless you are ok at the double haul. I find it's a real skill to shoot just enough running line out to make the forward haul. Make sure you have a decent stripping basket. Tangles are unavoidable, but the fewer the better. A good stripping basket with spikes will help a lot.

I'm often casting to structure with floating lines, opening in the lily pads and what not, when bass fishing. I don't think I'd be happy with a head in that case because the loop connections would clack through the guides. I think that would make your delivery less accurate at certain distances (annoying at the least). But if I'm blind casting with a sinking line over open water, a shooting head might be just the thing.

Some expert well-known casters prefer integrated lines over shooting heads -- Ed Mitchell immediately comes to mind.

Those are some of my thoughts, anyway.