One thing to remember when putting something before /bin and /usr/bin in your path is it can cause issues with folks who write bad shell scripts (ie. they don't put in full path names for commands). For instance, a long time ago I had to deal with HP LaserJet drivers in which the person used "echo" without a full path. The "echo" that was being used expected arguments that worked for the SVR4 version of "echo", and I had a BSD version of "echo" first in my path. So, basically, if you booted the machine the printer would print fine. If I stopped and restarted the print daemon, it wouldn't print. After dealing with that issue for a couple weeks I never again put anything before /bin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin in my path. Ofcourse your milage may vary, but I always play it safe, as badly written shell scripts can cause you a world of hurt if they don't get what they expect.
Brian